A federal jury in California on Friday rejected accusations that rapper Cardi B improperly exploited a man’s image on the cover of her debut mixtape album from 2016.
After a four-day trial, the Santa Ana jury concluded that the cover of the album ‘Gangsta Bit*h Music, Vol. 1’ did not infringe on the publicity or privacy rights of the plaintiff, Kevin Michael Brophy, by featuring an altered image of a different man performing oral sex on the well-known rapper while sporting Brophy’s distinctive back tattoo.
In his 2017 lawsuit, Brophy demanded that Cardi B and her former manager Klenord Raphael pay him at least $5 million in damages and refrain from utilising his likeness in any way.
Brophy’s attorney Barry Cappello of Cappello & Noel said in an email to Reuters that Cardi B and Raphael were ‘gracious winners’ and shook hands with Brophy after the verdict.
‘If this chapter can close, it may be best for the Brophy family’s ability to put this behind them,’ Cappello said.
Cardi B’s representatives did not immediately reply to demands for comment after the verdict. Cardi B’s real name is Belcalis Almanzar.
In his lawsuit, Brophy, a resident of Costa Mesa, California, claimed that he works for a ‘socially-conscious surf and lifestyle company’ and that he is a husband and father of two young children.
After Cardi B unveiled the explicit mixtape cover displaying a man with Brophy’s distinctive tattoo photo-shopped onto his back, he claimed he was subjected to ‘uncomfortable comments, questioning, and scorn.’
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