T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris have won their lawsuit against MGA Entertainment according to PEOPLE.
The couple claimed the company violated the intellectual property rights of their music group, the OMG Girlz, with the company’s L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls.
On Monday, Sept. 23, the Xscape singer, 49, shared her happiness after the years-long court battle ended with a $71 million victory.
“We did this for the city. We did this for the culture,” Tiny said during an Instagram Live video outside of a Santa Ana, Calif., federal courthouse.
“It was a fight. It was a hell of a fight,” she continued of the case that started in 2020, and lasted until Monday’s hearing. “We couldn’t be more happy.”
The “Understanding” singer also thanked the jurors for reaching a unanimous verdict.
“We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this, and just believing in what we said. They heard our story and they knew we wasn’t lying. It’s amazing,” Tiny added.
After the ruling, Tiny spoke to Rolling Stone about the win, plus $53.6 million in punitive damages.
“I mean, wow. They did more than I thought they would,” she told the outlet. “I would have been happy with whatever. They blessed us more than beyond. We wanted to thank the jurors so bad, but we didn’t get the opportunity.”
According to Rolling Stone, the jurors found that more than a dozen L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls “infringed on the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness of the all-female band that T.I. and Tiny formed in 2009.”
The OMG Girlz consist of Bahja Rodriguez, Breaunna Womack and Tiny’s eldest daughter, Zonnique Pullins.
Over the years, Tiny has called out the L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls for similarities — including an Instagram post just last week with side-by-side photos of the girls next to the dolls, with similar outfits and hairstyles.
“Do these dolls look familiar?” was written over the graphic.
“1 of many but biggest custom outfit in questioned! @omggirlz vs #OMGDolls last wk of court! God willing the truth will prevail!!!” Tiny captioned the upload, which also showed the girls performing in outfits similar to what the dolls wore.
Pullins, 28, Rodriguez, also 28, and Womack, 29, testified at the three-week trial. During proceedings, T.I. and Tiny accused MGA of promoting seven dolls that appeared identical to the wardrobe and style that OMG Girlz wore at “very specific public events” or photos, per the outlet.
“I’m so grateful and overwhelmed with joy,” Womack told Rolling Stone. Pullins added, “When the judge asked if we had a memorable trade dress and everyone raised their hands, I got so emotional. We all silently cried.”
T.I., 43, shared a statement with the outlet via a phone conversation.
“I think that was a bully tactic,” the “Live Your Life” rapper said of lawyers for MGA calling the lawsuit a “money grab.”
“[They were] trying to paint me as the bad guy when really, they were the [bad] ones. They were the ones that came and ripped us off, and [they] expected us to not have the audacity to stand up and speak for ourselves,” he continued. “That kind of condescension comes from when you’re not really in touch with the reality of culture after you’ve gone so long kind of having it your way and nobody really standing up and speaking up against you.”
MGA founder Isaac Larian, who denied the allegations, insisted that the group did not influence the dolls and referred to the famous family and OMG Girlz as “extortionists” during the trial.
