T.I. And Tiny's OMG Girl Dollz Lawsuit Ends In Mistrial Over 'Cultural Appropriation' Testimony
According to reporter Meghann Cuniff, the civil case between the girl group OMG Girlz and MGA Entertainment ended in a mistrial on Wednesday.
Jurors in @MGAEnt v. @Tip heard from a woman who said she stopped buying OMG Dolls because “I did not want to support a company that steals from African Americans and their ideas.”
Today, a judge declared a mistrial because of it, agreeing with this argument from MGA’s lawyers. pic.twitter.com/51LXV8gFBO
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 25, 2023
The toy company’s lawyers requested a mistrial after the jurors mistakenly viewed a deposition of a former MGA customer, Moniece Campbell. During deposition, Campbell revealed she stopped buying the brand’s dolls after realizing they were based on the music group OMG Girlz.
“I did not want to support a company that steals from African Americans and their ideas and profit off of it and don’t give African Americans the profit,” Campbell said.
This is happening now in Judge James Selna’s courtroom, where I’m stationed. The judge declared the mistrial a few minutes ago, but the jury hasn’t yet been told. They’ll be brought in soon, then dismissed. There is a lot going on here that I’ll be explaining in an article today.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 25, 2023
The recording also collected Campbell’s opinion on how MGA’s OMG Dolls “is stolen from the OMG Girlz.”
“People often steal from the Black community and make money off of it” and “hundreds” and one of the jurors agrees with the accusations.
“Race Cannot be Eradicated from the Case and Counsel’s Racist Behavior Brought it to the Forefront”
“With the first witness who took the stand, MGA’s counsel tried to weaponize a term, the “N-word,” that the black community has fought so hard to gain control over.” pic.twitter.com/u4efUS8w3M
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 26, 2023
After the trial, a juror spoke with Cuniff supporting the OMG Girlz brand and likeliness.
“Frankly I sort of agreed with what she was saying,” he said. He also believes the OMG Girlz had a solid case against the toy company.
The juror is speaking now with YouTuber Nique at Nite. He did not like how MGA lawyers focused on rap lyrics and language used by Zonnique and Tiny, saying it appeared to be trying to appeal to racism. pic.twitter.com/z0rxh9232t
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 25, 2023
He also cited the dolls’ packaging, names, logo, and appearances. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence.”
But, the juror said: “Frankly I sort of agreed with what she was saying.” He also believes the OMG Girlz had a solid case against @MGAEnt over the OMG Dolls. He cited the dolls’ packaging, names, logo and appearances. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence.”
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 25, 2023
Judge James V. Selna said the deposition violated his regulated order barring references to cultural appropriation and racism.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, Jennifer Keller, MGA’s lawyer claims the deposition recording was “really, really prejudicial” against the company.
T.I. and Tiny’s lawyers filed opposition to the mistrial tonight, and they bring up the fact that @MGAEnt‘s counsel “was free to repeatedly invoke the “n” word while questioning…Black witnesses,” which they say is “inequitable” with calling a mistrial over the depo testimony. pic.twitter.com/8YYz2ALnfJ
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) January 26, 2023
“The court erred when failing to pick up the cultural misappropriation in those passages,” Selna said.
T.I.’s lawyer, Erin Ranahan, asked Selna to reconsider stating the deposition testimony wasn’t helpful to her case.
“We did not want that theme before this jury in particular. This is not Los Angeles. There’s not a single Black person on the jury,” Ranahan said. “We don’t believe that the prejudicial effect of that statement is going to impact their ability to be fair,” he said.
Selna wasn’t swayed. Attorneys will reconvene in his courtroom next week to deliberate the possibility of a second trial.
