T.I., Tiny’s Lawsuit Against Doll Maker Restarts After ‘Cultural Appropriation’ Mistrial
T.I. and Tiny are back in court today, May 10, for the second round of their copyright infringement suit against L.O.L. doll maker MGA Entertainment after the first ended in a mistrial.
The parameters of the case haven’t changed: T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny (Tameka Cottle) sued MGA Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of OMG Girlz — the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise OMG” dolls in 2019. MGA has denied the allegations.
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The case first went to trial in January. Before things got underway, the judge ruled that T.I. and Tiny couldn’t use an argument mentioned in a May 2021 complaint: That MGA founder Isaac Marian engages in a “routine practice” of “using his doll business to misappropriate the likeness of Black female artists.”
Yet six days into the trial, the judge declared a mistrial after jurors did hear barred testimony accusing MGA of “racist cultural appropriation.”
The deposition testimony was from a customer who said she “stopped purchasing” the L.O.L. dolls after learning they weren’t affiliated with OMG Girlz, and then stated she “did not want to support a company that steals from African Americans and their ideas.”
In their mistrial motion, MGA’s lawyers wrote, “Hearing the testimony was even worse than reading it in the cold print. The prejudicial nature of this testimony accusing MGA of racist cultural appropriation cannot be understated.”
Jury selection for the new trial took place Tuesday, May 9, while opening statements were held today. During the last round of opening statements, MGA Entertainment’s lawyer called the suit a “shakedown” and argued that the OMG Girlz’s aesthetic and spelling choices were reminiscent of MGA’s popular line of Bratz dolls.”
T.I. and Tiny’s lawyer, meanwhile, claimed the infringement was prompted by a reunion performance OMG Girlz staged in 2017. “Now, someone was watching that reunion appearance,” he said. “And that someone, we don’t know who, worked at MGA Entertainment. You will see that outfits worn by the OMG Girlz at that New Year’s event in Atlanta later translated into dolls that (MGA founder) Isaac Larian and MGA are making millions of dollars off of.”
Coincidentally, MGA Entertainment is currently involved in another music-related copyright infringement lawsuit that’s arguably even wilder than the one with T.I. and Tiny. Back in January, BMG sued the toymaker, alleging that a jingle dubbed “My Poops” — used to market a line of slime-shitting unicorns — infringed on its copyright to the Black Eyed Peas’ 2006 hit, “My Humps.”
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