Young Thug and Mariah the Scientist may have legal recourse after an intimate jailhouse call was leaked to the public.
Source: Prince Williams/Paras Griffin / Getty
As the RICO trial against Young Thug continues to rev up, the rapper is making headlines outside of the usual court proceedings. According to Complex, an expert says a leaked viral video revealing a romantic interaction between Thugger and his girlfriend, Mariah the Scientist may provide grounds to sue.
The video of their private conversation hit the interweb on Jan. 25 and quickly circulated due to the nature of the discussion. As Mariah held the prison phone between her chin and shoulder, she asked, “Daddy am I your baby?” This question followed a discussion about the Cuban link necklaces Young Thug — born Jeffrey Lamar Williams — gifted her.
Some social media users found the exchange comical. Others described the child-like voice Mariah used as weird. The leak sparked outrage among Thugger’s celebrity friends, who spoke out against the musical pair’s violation of privacy.
Grammy-winning rapper, Drake, took to Instagram to share his frustrations, writing, “This gotta be some form of jail misconduct. [Y]ou gonna drag this talented man then not be able to control your employees using his personal business for their own gain?”
Meek Mill chimed in on X sharing, “This is top tier lawsuit. Your personal calls not supposed to be on the street.”
Is the Philly rapper right? According to Mike Mandell, a lawyer and legal influencer, “It’s going to depend on the facts of how this video call was accessed and who accessed it.”
It’s not criminal if the individual had permission to access the video. If someone unauthorized got their hands on it, he/she violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is a federal crime. At the very least, this would count as a policy violation due to employee misconduct.
“There’s definitely some sort of misconduct here”, Mandell stated.
He continued, “And so depending on how bad the damages are really is where you have this potential for a lawsuit.”
Mariah The Scientist And Young Thug’s Case To Sue For Leaked Phone Call
Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Amy Sussman / Tim Mosenfelder / Amy Sussman
The entertainers could sue for a variety of reasons because this information should have stayed within the prison system. The list of legal grievances could include negligence, intentional affliction, invasion of privacy, civil theft, emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.
Mandell assesses there are grounds for a lawsuit. However, the case isn’t necessarily a slam dunk for the couple. If an investigation determines an employee leaked the recording, it would support a civil lawsuit.
Some Young Thug fans were hoping the leaked video would lead to his cases’s dismissal but the attorney contends that is highly unlikely.
Mike said, “In my opinion, the conversation is not protected. It’s not privileged. It’s not a conversation with him and his attorney.”
The law only requires the convos between inmates and their lawyers to remain confidential. There is no protection for intimate chats with family or friends.
The attonery explained, “The only [calls] that are protected are when you’re talking to your lawyer. So any call you have with a family member or friend when you get arrested or when you’re currently in jail is all fair game”.
Mandell added, “…it does seem like someone messed up. This stuff shouldn’t be leaked, especially if it’s used for financial gain. And it seems like someone probably profited from leaking it. So that’s the real topic here: What can be done to not let this type of stuff happen, and will someone be punished, whether it be criminally or civilly, for letting this happen?”
Mariah will most likely have her guard up when she chats with her boo from this point forward.
Girl, just save the baby talk for when Jeffrey finishes his sentence.
