With her rapper husband T.I. watching from the gallery, Tameka “Tiny” Harris took the witness stand in a federal courtroom in California on Wednesday. In a measured voice, she denied staging a shakedown when she sued MGA Entertainment with claims that the toymaker stole the name, vibrant hair, and unique wardrobe of the couple’s teen pop group OMG Girlz to create MGA’s wildly popular “L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G.” dolls.
“I’m not here for a money grab. I live very comfortably, me and my husband. We’re doing pretty well for ourselves,” Tiny testified as the first witness called in the trial that started Tuesday in Santa Ana. “It’s more about the girls. I feel like the girls built a brand, and they work hard for it.”
A member of the Nineties R&B group Xscape and a songwriter known for the TLC hit “No Scrubs,” Tiny said she believes the three members of OMG Girlz — her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack — deserve compensation from MGA and would share in any potential trial award. “I don’t feel that it’s right for a big company to come and take something they built and not make them a part of it,” she testified, referring to MGA.
Tiny, 49, and T.I., 43, started their intellectual property battle with MGA in December 2020 when they sent a letter demanding the toy company halt distribution of its O.M.G. dolls due to the alleged infringement. MGA responded days later with a lawsuit seeking a court finding that MGA owns the name and image of its dolls. T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, and Tiny answered that lawsuit by filing their cross-complaint for trade dress infringement. An initial trial in January 2023 ended in a mistrial. A second trial ended in a loss for the couple that was overturned last year due to a change in the law.
For its part, MGA denies infringing on the name and image of the OMG Girlz. In his opening statement, MGA lawyer Paul Loh said MGA was making Bratz and Moxie Girlz dolls with brightly colored hair and rockstar styling well before the OMG Girlz rose to fame. He also showed jurors photos of musicians Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Cyndi Lauper, saying bright hair and costumes were common styles.
“This is nothing more than a money grab and a family hustle,” Loh previously told the jury, leading to Tiny’s denial of that accusation Wednesday. In her testimony, Tiny said it was true she invested money in OMG Girlz, but she was adamant her lawsuit isn’t an attempt to recoup her money.
“I wasn’t hurting for money. I just wanted them to win,” she testified when asked by Loh on cross-examination if it was true that she sunk $1 million into the girl group. “I just wanted them to win.”
Loh also asked Tiny if it was true that her side has narrowed the scope of its case from 31 allegedly infringing dolls down to seven to nine dolls. Her lawyer, John Keville, said in his opening statement Tuesday that his clients wanted the jury to focus on the smaller number of specific dolls to be more “conservative” and “efficient with your time.” He said the more targeted group of dolls allegedly had “very close associations” to specific looks and outfits worn by the OMG Girlz.
In her testimony Wednesday, Tiny said she believed one MGA doll in particular, named Chillax, was a blatant copy of a distinctive white and black two-piece costume that the OMG Girlz sported on their 2013 All Around The World tour.
“This is a look we created for them. So, to me, I still feel like this is their look. I didn’t buy this at the store,” Tiny testified. She said she still believes the entire “L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G.” line infringes on the name, vibrant hair, and unique wardrobe of the OMG Girlz, but she agreed the slimmed down list of dolls made sense to save time. “I just want them to see the girls worked hard for this, and they should be part of something they built and not be able to be taken advantage of,” Tiny said.
In their previous trial, T.I. and Tiny asked jurors for close to $100 million in damages to share with the members of OMG Girlz. This time, their lawyer said they deserve “somewhere in the range of $17 million to $25 million.”
MGA’s billionaire founder Isaac Larian was called as the second witness in the trial on Wednesday afternoon. Under questioning by T.I. and Tiny’s lawyer, John Keville, Larian said the OMG Girlz have no worthwhile claim.
“I have seen what they are allegedly saying is a trade dress, but I don’t agree with it,” Larian testified. “You guys keep changing it.” In a combative tone, Larian said his dolls “do not look like” the OMG Girlz. “I know a lot of people with colored hair,” he said.
As she left the courthouse on her lunch break, Pullins said she, Rodriguez, and Womack were attending the trial to “support our brand.” The three women sat in the front row next to T.I. “My mom makes me so proud. I love seeing her in mother mode,” Pullins told Rolling Stone.
From Rolling Stone US
