*T.I. says his upcoming headlining appearance at 96.1 The Beat’s annual Jingle Ball holiday concert in Atlanta on Dec. 19 may be his last performance.
“I appreciate y’all for offering me my last working gig because I do not need the money anymore and I will not be performing,” he said during a recent interview with“Rari at 2” hosts Ferrari Simmons and BT, Billboard reprots. “I don’t want to do it anymore. … I don’t want people to pay me to hop around and sweat for their entertainment anymore.”
We reported earlier that T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris recently won a $71 million jury award after successfully proving that MGA Entertainment infringed on the intellectual property of their teen pop group OMG Girlz with the company’s “L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G.” doll line.
According to Rolling Stone, T.I., Tiny, and their companies were awarded $17.9 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages after a three-week trial in a federal court in Santa Ana, California.
“I mean, wow. They did more than I thought they would,” Tiny shared with Rolling Stone after the jury’s decision. “I would have been happy with whatever. They blessed us more than beyond. We wanted to thank the jurors so bad, but we didn’t get the opportunity.”
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T.I. added, “I think justice was served. I think it’s a testament to the relentlessness and resilience of my wife, daughter and nieces. We’re just happy we were able to come out on top and fight for creatives and our intellectual property that large corporations seem to think is just public domain and free for all to come and grab and use.” He called the verdict a win for “the people who actually put hard work and effort into building and creating things from nothing.”
The jury determined that 13 of the more than 30 dolls at the center of the case infringed on trade dress, the name, image, and likeness of the OMG Girlz, which T.I., Tiny, and their daughter Zonnique formed in 2009. Seven dolls had looks that copied the way the now-defunct pop group appeared at “very specific public events” or in promotional photos.
Meanwhile, T.I. might be retiring from rap too after previously telling the We In Miami Podcast that his double album titled “Kill the King and Kiss the King” will be his final album.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: T.I. and Tiny Secure $71 Million Victory in OMG Girlz Lawsuit
