A multimillion-dollar verdict in a defamation case brought by Cardi B has been upheld in federal court.
As first reported by Billboard, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said Tuesday it had rejected an appeal effort from Tasha K. The gossip writer had previously argued that the verdict in the much-publicized case had been reached without enough evidence.
With the court now saying she didn’t adequately present that argument, nor did her legal team sufficiently argue that certain evidence had been withheld during the trial, the previously reported $4 million verdict amount is formally upheld.
“Because [Tasha K’s] brief falls well short of what we require, she has abandoned this argument,” the court said, per Tuesday’s report.
Tasha K was found liable in January 2022 for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Initially, Cardi was awarded $1 million in general damages and another $250,000 in medical expenses; subsequent court updates, however, saw that amount growing in size.
Last October, Tasha K was reported to have been ordered to swiftly make good on the $4 million, which all spurred from what Cardi called a “malicious campaign” against her in her initial 2019 lawsuit.
Following the latest developments in the case, where things go next is uncertain. At any rate, Complex has reached out to a legal rep for Cardi B for comment. This story may be updated. At the time of this writing, Cardi had not publicly commented on Tuesday’s news.
In March of last year, Complex took a detailed look at the context surrounding Cardi B’s victory in this case, specifically its place in a larger trend surrounding pushbacks against misinformation. Revisit that here.
