4TH TIME’S THE CHARM?! TI and Tiny Head Right Back to Federal Court After Judge Cuts Their Huge $71M ‘OMG Dolls’ Win Bag to $18M!
Baby, dust off your sharpest courtroom suits and get your prayer circles aggressively in formation, because Atlanta’s leading power couple are officially entering the legal battlefield for a hottie fourth time! Media Take Outhas followed the absolute, multi-year intellectual property warfare between the hip-hop legend TEN (Clifford Harris Jr.), his powerful wife Tameka “Tiny” Harrisand the multi-billion dollar toy giant MGA entertainment— the corporate brain behind the wildly popular LOL surprise! OMG fashion dolls line.
Just when the world thought the Harris family had permanently secured the ultimate bag for protecting black creative culture, the legal matrix completely flipped the script. The much awaited one The fourth trial is officially scheduled to begin next week on June 23and the stakes are unusually high. The whole thing is going to look like a hyper-focused three-day mini-trial with an eight-person jury dedicated solely to figuring out exactly how many millions MGA will have to cough up in proper punitive damages.
To understand why we’re right back at square one after years of intense legal drama, you have to look at the incredibly messy historical breadcrumbs that led to this unprecedented courtroom setup!
Trial 1 (January 2023): Mistrial Madness & “Cultural Appropriation”
The epic war originally started back in 2020 when TI and Tiny filed a massive lawsuit accusing MGA Entertainment of completely ripping off the unique name, vibrant neon aesthetic, and very distinct, colorful fashion look of their teen pop group. OMG Girlz– the 2009 musical trio featuring Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins alongside Bahja Rodriguez and Breaunna Womack.
The first highly publicized trial finally launched in Santa Ana, California, in January 2023. But honey, it barely got off the ground! The whole thing collapsed for a moment misunderstanding after a witness unexpectedly violated strict court orders by telling the jury that the multibillion-dollar toy company actively “abused and stole from black culture.” MGA’s corporate lawyers aggressively flagged the piece, arguing that the statement completely poisoned the jury, forcing the judge to throw out the trial entirely.
Trial 2 (May 2023) and Trial 3 (September 2024): The Defeat, the Appeal, and the $71 Million Victory!
The second lawsuit went down just a few months later, and boy, was it total heartbreak for the Harris camp. The jury ultimately sided with MGA, clearing the toy company of any wrongdoing. But TI and Tiny are definitely fighters! They launched a ferocious, powerful appeal, leveraging a brand new Supreme Court trademark ruling to completely overturn the defensive ruling and secure a third shot at the court.
And baby, Trial 3 was an absolute masterclass in vindication! In September 2024, the jury sat through three weeks of intense testimony – with OMG Girlz herself taking the stand to prove that specific dolls looked identical to specific outfits they wore at public events. The jury completely agreed, and hit MGA with a jaw drop $71.4 million in total judgment ($17.9 million in damages for lost profits, plus a whopping $53.6 million in punitive damages). Standing outside the courthouse, Tiny wept with joy on Instagram Live, shouting, “We did this for the culture!” —
Why do we have to go to court a 4th time?
So how did a completed $71 million win slip right back into a courtroom? It all comes down to the strict limits of California law.
Following post-trial motions, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna issued a final order stating that while the $17.9 million compensatory award was entirely solid, the massive $53.6 million was simply not supported by the clear weight of evidence. The judge argued that while MGA was certainly negligent, there was not a high enough threshold of “deliberate disregard or malice” proven in the internal designer emails to justify the specific multi-million dollar fine.
The judge then gave TI and Tiny an absolute ultimatum: either accept a par $1 in punitive damages (bringing their total check down to $17.9 million) and call it a day, or roll the dice and go all the way back to a fourth trial to let a new jury decide on a constitutionally sound punitive payout. Treasure, the King and Queen of the South chose to fight!
Next week’s trial is strictly a battle for the penalty bag. The $17.9 million winnings are already locked away in the safe, but TI and Tiny are heading back to the witness stand next week to convince eight brand new jurors that MGA’s nefarious behavior deserves a big financial penalty. Media Take Out is absolutely praying for TI, Tiny and the girls as they step back into the trenches to defend black intellectual property rights against corporate giants. Keep your eyes firmly locked on our pages because next week is shaping up to be an absolute blockbuster! Stay tuned, baby!
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