A Los Angeles judge overseeing what may be the first Instagram-related libel case ordered the rapper The Game to pay more than $200,000 to a former nanny for his children who the singer defamed in a rant on social media.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued a $200,627 default judgment against the singer on June 10. Plaintiff Karen Monroe alleged defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She sued the 35- year-old rapper in July 2013 after he allegedly ranted about her on Instagram, accusing her of neglecting his children and describing her as “a very dangerous baby sitter.” The suit alleged The Game falsely stated that he fired Monroe for screaming at his children, having sex with her boyfriend in his children’s room, and that she left Northern California to “escape from her past of inappropriately touching children.”
Monroe’s attorney, Manu Elloie, moved for a default judgment after The Game, whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, did not respond to the suit.
Elloie said millions of people saw the posting, prompting death threats against Monroe and causing her to lose her job as a nanny to singer Kelis.
In his seven-page ruling, Beckloff said Monroe received many postings amounting to “profane slurs” on her social media accounts in response to The Game’s statements, including “You can rape as many kids as you want and catch diseases” and “Take your passport and go to Africa.”
The judge cited a sworn declaration from Monroe in which she said “reputation is everything in the celebrity nanny business” and that it is now unlikely she will be able to work for another famous person because of the bad publicity generated by the rapper’s remarks.
Monroe sought therapy for depression, took medications and experienced extreme mood swings, according to Beckloff.
“Plaintiff stated that she experienced a significant toll on her body,” Beckloff wrote.
Beckloff also noted that psychologist Shani Habib stated in a separate declaration that Monroe “went into a deep depression, would cry frequently, had trouble sleeping, was concerned about her safety and suffered significant emotional distress.”
The Game, meanwhile, is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles today on charges of hitting and threatening an off-duty police officer during a basketball game at Hollywood High on March 29.
The office of District Attorney Jackie Lacey says he faces a felony charge of making a criminal threat and a misdemeanor count of assault an battery. He faces up to three years in prison.
