This megathread is for users to discuss all of the settlement developments. As most of what is being discussed is just speculation, please remember to not state opinion as fact. Please, try to remain civil and not downvote others. We have kept contest mode off to prevent problems with commenting. Thank you, all!
In honor of Blake being at the Met Gala again this year, we are posting all of Blake's previous Met Gala outfits! This one is from 2009! Blake in Blue!
Vogue article detailing why Blake Lively chose this stunning 2006 vintage Versace dress and the adorable handbag that featured drawings from her own children.
https://www.vogue.com/article/blake-lively-2026-met-gala-archival-atelier-versace
Blake Lively is celebrating her settlement against Justin Baldoni by attending the 2026 Met Gala, dressed like a princess!
Misogynoir and disparities for black women:
It’s an age-old trope: A man in the entertainment industry is accused of violence by a prominent woman.
She files charges or brings a lawsuit: And the almost immediate response is the victim/accuser is the one who must experience a trial by the public and media. Speculation, memes, called a liar, mocked and discredited.
For women of color, those layers of misogyny intersect with race and impact both inside of the courtroom, and the macro environment.
“It’s real that the criminal legal system disproportionately punishes Black and Brown men, but Black women are left holding the bag and have to protect Black men from the criminal legal system.”
“Often, Black women don’t get the privilege of being victims,” Tyree said. “Often in society, Black women are the second to be seen as someone who has been victimized, second to be seen as someone who has legitimate health care problems, second to be seen as someone facing real social ills. So when Black women come forward, they are not believed.” https://19thnews.org/2022/12/megan-thee-stallion-testimony-justice/
Background and becoming Megan Thee Stallion. Strength and Loss:
Megan Pete’s mother, Holly Thomas, introduced and surrounded her with hip hop from a very young age. As a rapper herself, Holly plunged Megan into the hip hop world, and she soon started writing her own raps. By the age of 14, Megan was writing raps and setting the stage for her future career. Though Holly would ask Megan to wait until 21 to delve into the industry, she would spend years building her brand and refining her “Hot Girl” persona. With her confidence on stage and original lyrics, Megan exploded onto the scene. Winning her first Grammy 5 years later in 2021 for Best New Artist, at 26 years old.
She achieved major success for a young woman in a difficult to penetrate male oriented scene like hip hop. And used her platform to be a vocal advocate for women’s empowerment and black mental health. Losing her father at 15, and then mother followed by grandmother in quick succession only 8 years later, Megan’s life has been marred by tragedy, giving her the personal experience that would drive her passion for advocacy.
A show of strength and empowerment that would be both a blessing and a curse. And eventually weaponized against her, with harsh criticism and an assumption she could take it. Despite the astronomical personal loss and inspirational ability to be driven and ambitious throughout, a 2020 shooting incident would see Megan face endless speculation and judgement. And still she continued to push. Graduating from University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in health administration, while continuing the advancement of her music career.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/megan-thee-stallion-college-graduation-interview-1270746/
2020: The shooting incident, misogynoir and unrelenting harassment:
In July 2020, Megan Pete, was shot in both feet by rapper Tory Lanez. An incident that led to her having to have surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet and fearing for her life. Something that along with understanding all too well the justice landscape for black women, caused Megan to hesitate before reporting exactly what happened to police. Initially making up excuses and protecting others involved.
After eventually speaking up and naming her attacker, Megan was subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment. Later in 2023, saying to Rolling Stone “I could have let the adversity break me, but I persevered, even as people treated my trauma like a running joke.”
A corner of society used her fear and hesitation to invalidate her experience, say analysts in a Vox article. Despite having the physical evidence of bullet fragments from her feet and testimony, a segment of the public - including other artists, content creators, the public and bloggers - accused her of lying.
Instead of this incident being met with the compassion and the support you would expect the victim of a violent crime to receive, Megan had to endure endless victim-blaming, memes, public mockery, and disbelief. Outright called a liar and made fun of, while slut-shaming for her sexy public music persona and confidence.
Megan has openly spoken about the "torture" of having to defend herself while recovering from physical and mental injuries, with critics even mocking her pain in memes. “Imagine being forced to relive the most traumatizing moment of your life. Not just in private, where it would be painful enough. But in public, where you’re facing sexist, racist, and vicious harassment.” https://nwlc.org/a-terrible-storm-megan-thee-stallion-misogynoir-and-leaving-black-survivors-unprotected/
Targeted and public mockery that included things like:
“Black women are rarely seen as victims but are instead treated as if they are deserving of violence. “
“It grows out of this idea about our humanity and that we are seen as less than human, not actually women, some other kind of non-human species.” https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-reaction-to-megan-thee-stallions-alleged-shooting-is-misogynoir-in-action-experts/
“A 2019 report from the Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality found that Black girls are regularly subjected to “adultification bias,” where they are viewed as less innocent than their white peers, and less deserving of protection.” https://www.endadultificationbias.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Listening-to-Black-Women-and-Girls-v7.pdf
Tory Lanez launched a ‘smear campaign’ against her:
Megan alleged that Tory Lanez orchestrated a public smear campaign against her. To discredit and impede her ability to get justice while attempting to intimidate her and chill her desire to continue speaking out.
“We have been made aware of manipulated text messages and invented email accounts that have been disseminated to the media in a calculated attempt to peddle a false narrative about the events that occurred on July the 12th,” Megan’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told Page Six on Friday. “A smear campaign can’t change the truth.” https://pagesix.com/2020/09/25/megan-thee-stallions-team-accuses-tory-lanez-of-launching-smear-campaign-against-her/
Suspicious email addresses were promoting articles like those in Page Six that claimed to be an interview from Lanez’s alleged bodyguard, in which he defended the Lanez as someone who had never been violent. Despite a recent lawsuit for assault. https://www.rap-up.com/article/2021/05/11/tory-lanez-alleged-attack-love-hip-hop-prince
And other suss email addresses were leaking texts they asserted to be between Megan and Lanez immediately after the shooting. Despite teams for both Megan and Lanez confirmed the texts were doctored, the public speculation and belief in the truth of these thigs prevailed.
Page Six was also sent an email purporting to be from a nightclub promoter, that stated that Megan’s record label, “contacted” them wanting to get in touch with ‘Prince’ , who had also filed a lawsuit against Lanez after a surprise attack in a club. The email address didn’t match any other employees from the company. https://pagesix.com/2020/09/25/megan-thee-stallions-team-accuses-tory-lanez-of-launching-smear-campaign-against-her/
Then there was “Gramz” (Milagro Cooper) a content creator who suddenly became popular by commenting on Lanez’s case. Who pushed online narratives that portrayed Megan as dishonest and unreliable. Megan’s lawsuit allege’s that Lanez fed Gramz disinformation and false claims about evidence and claims of “inconsistencies” in Megan’s testimony. Live testimony that Gramz also “broadcast to her audience.” https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/tory-lanez-held-in-contempt-as-megan-thee-stallions-civil-trial-against-blogger-begins
Continued Victimization via the smear campaign:
Even after successfully getting a conviction on three felony counts that saw Lanez found guilty of Megan’s shooting, and sentenced Lanez to 10 years in prison - the harassment did not stop. In 2024 Megan eventually was forced to file a restraining order that stated that Lanez was continuing to use bloggers to bully her from prison. https://variety.com/2024/music/news/megan-thee-stallion-tory-lanez-restraining-order-harassment-1236252816/
Megan then sued the hip hop content creator, Gramz, for her participation in the online smear campaign against her. Megan declared Gramz was deliberately spreading false and harmful information about her at the bidding of Tory Lanez. Stating that Gramz was “a paid mouthpiece” for both Lanez and his father. https://www.complex.com/music/a/joshua-espinoza/megan-stallion-gramz-lawsuit-sanction-deleted-text-messages
A forensic investigation was initiated that found that Gramz had deleted texts and whatsapp messages from her devices against the orders of the court to preserve all data related to Lanez and his dad. The Judge found that Gramz was aware she had a duty to preserve and there was sufficient evidence that her "pattern of deletions indicate bad faith spoliation, inherently prejudicing Plaintiff" leading to sanctions.
"It’s time to hold bloggers accountable for years of harassment, cyberbullying, and the publication of misinformation about my personal and professional life," Megan said in a 2024 statement announcing the lawsuit. "I’ve endured countless attacks on my character based on false narratives from social media bloggers misrepresenting themselves as journalists. It’s unacceptable behavior and these individuals need to understand there will be repercussions for recklessly posting lies and defamatory falsehoods."
https://www.complex.com/music/a/joshua-espinoza/megan-stallion-gramz-lawsuit-sanction-deleted-text-messages
It only took jurors two days to deliberate and find Gramz liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and contributing to the distribution and visibility of a deepfake video. Megan won $75,000 in damages, that including punitive damages. Florida law also mean that Gramz would be responsible for Megan’s legal fees.
Megan’s testimony in the case spoke of the damage the harassment did to her mental health and the embarrassment she felt due to a deepfake video that circulated online. “I know it’s not me,” she testified, “but to be in front of everybody else, and they have to watch it, it’s really embarrassing.” Close friends of Megan’s testified that the situation prompted her to seek treatment at a mental-health facility.
And during all this Megan’s advocacy was steadfast. Partnering with the Ad council for the “Seize the Awkward” PSA and telling the world “Y'all, it's okay not to be okay.” https://www.instagram.com/reels/CxqIhngOEB5/
Megan and others like her, should not have to fight for our support:
Megan Thee Stallion’s experience emphasizes a system that’s broken. One where high profile women are forced to not only prove their victimization and experience, but that they deserve the very basic right of being able to speak up and seek justice.
Megan explained in interviews, she “didn't fit the profile of a victim." Her strength was used against her, and it was used to create a false narrative and shame that she was somehow responsible for her own assault. Victims should not have to fit a "perfect victim" profile while facing relentless harassment. Just to be worthy of not even belief, but the simple respect of having a voice and proving her case before being judged and dismissed. Fighting alone against the painfully evident misogynoir just to have a voice. https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2022/12/23/how-megan-thee-stallions-shooting-case-reveals-our-internalized-misogynoir/
Even with Lanez convicted and behind bars, the harassment has persisted, leading to Megan having to continually speak up about her trauma and how never being allowed to stop reliving this, harms her well-being. With some in the public and celebrities like Drake, Ye, Chris Brown and Amber Rose, still publicly supporting Lanez and calling for his release from prison. Making claims of new evidence, while repeating things that were already covered in the trial. Lanez releasing music from prison with songs like “Wish I never met you,” that debuted at #1. Proving once again, men are never truly cancelled. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/08/07/tory-lanez-charts-a-new-hit-one-he-recorded-in-prison/
Megan Thee Stallion is a survivor of trauma and loss, a violent assault by a famous man, and a smear campaign that did everything to try and break her. The toxic narratives that seek to discredit and shame Black women from speaking up or seeking justice, are dangerous for all women.
As Megan wrote in a New York Times op-ed, "Black women deserve to be protected as human beings." We believe that for all women, but black women especially need more help. We must reject the normalization of harassment of women for speaking up against their experience at the hands of violent and abusive men. Megan Thee Stallion is a champion for black women. We should all follow her example and champion her. And the other women like her - who face a system with layers that intersect with the social construct that controls our lives.
Let the legal system establish the case. Support victim/survivors and allow them the voice they deserve. We can all make a difference. No one should be subjected to attacks on their honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to protection against such interference or attacks. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Which of these Blake outfits is better?
InnerCity Press was present for the pretrial conference for Lively v Wayfarer this morning. As this is the only way we can know what happened this morning, we allow their summaries. Please, keep in mind that any summary will have a bias. Thank you.
What did the producers of Gossip Girl promise Blake Lively when she signed her contract to be on the show?
(Choices listed below)
This past week was the first five days of the Charlotte MacInness v Rebel Wilson Australia trial. This trial has been live streamed for the public to watch. As there has been a lot of interest in this case, we have decided to allow a megathread for users to discuss it.
Those who have been watching, if you want to summarize what has happened thus far, I'm sure users who have missed out would appreciate it. Thank you.
Please, remember to remain civil and not accuse parties of anything nefarious. Even if a party involved in this case has done something in this case, that does not automatically mean they did it elsewhere. Thank you, all.
"The pretrial conference in this case is scheduled for April 28, 2026. The Court has reached a preliminary determination that it will screen potential jurors the week prior to the scheduled trial for hardship only, and that it will conduct a voir dire inquiry on the morning trial is scheduled to begin, May 18, 2026, to screen jurors for cause challenges and to elicit information for use in the exercise of peremptory challenges. The Court attaches to this Order the draft questionnaires it intends to use for each purpose.
The Court will be prepared to discuss the procedure for hardship screening and to entertain objections to these materials at the pretrial conference on April 28, 2026.
SO ORDERED."
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.1375.0.pdf