Tory Lanez has filed a protective order to request that he not be subject to any more questioning in Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation lawsuit against Milagro Cooper (also known as Milagro Gramz).
The motion was filed on Sept. 24 in the Central District Court of California. In it, the incarcerated artist alleges that he “faces undue burden, prejudice to his ongoing criminal appeal, and constitutional risks if compelled to provide further deposition testimony."
The singer’s lawyers also note in the motion that both DJ Akademiks and Unite The People CEO Ceasar McDowell didn’t receive the same treatment as he did during their deposition procedures.
Lanez is asking to either have no further depositions in Megan's case; or, barring that, for further depositions to be limited to written questions, with safeguards built in — and that even that written deposition should be delayed until his appeal is completed.
Megan sued Cooper last year, accusing her of promotion of an altered sexual depiction, intentional infliction of emotional distress, cyberstalking, and invasion of privacy.
“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 statement at the time.
“I’ve endured countless attacks on my character based on false narratives from social media bloggers misrepresenting themselves as journalists,” she continued. “It’s unacceptable behavior, and these individuals need to understand there will be repercussions for recklessly posting lies and defamatory falsehoods.”
In June, a judge issued a gag order that prevented Cooper from publicly posting statements about Megan (in connection with her case against Lanez) during the period of litigation. Megan was similarly prevented from speaking about Cooper publicly.
The following month, Megan’s legal team pushed to get access to Cooper’s social media, text messages, and deleted content after alleging she ignored deadlines for discovery and didn’t give them required evidence.
In August, McDowell was accused of rolling up a “marijuana cigarette" during a deposition for the trial.
"Mr. McDowell’s misconduct went far beyond feigned forgetfulness. On camera and under oath, Mr. McDowell rolled a cigarette filled with a substance resembling marijuana during questioning, then smoked it during a break," reads the court filing from Megan's legal team. "He demanded painkillers, threatened to urinate in the deposition room, called plaintiff’s counsel a ‘bitch,’ made inappropriate comments about her appearance, and walked out mid-questioning."