A pharmacy student named Kimberly Diei just bagged $250K after the University of Tennessee tried to throw her out for posting Cardi B’s “WAP” lyrics.
Back in 2021, Diei teamed up with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression to sue the school. According to USA Today, she argued that the university crossed the line by trying to control her personal social media and violated her free speech rights.
The drama started in August 2020 when Diei tweeted at Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion, shooting her shot to jump on a “WAP” remix with her own verses for the buzzy quarantine-era track.
“I ain’t got that WAP he give gwap so that he can get a lick,” Diei tweeted, according to the foundation. “He ain’t my pops but I call him DAD cuz he got that dop ass dick.”
She also posted: “Spent all this time getting my hair done just for your man to fuck it up.”
According to the complaint, the university called out Diei’s X posts (back when it was Twitter) for being too “crude,” “vulgar,” and “sexual.”
In September, Diei scored a win when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit flipped an August 2023 ruling that had thrown out her case claiming her social posts weren’t protected speech.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Diei’s lawyer Greg H. Greubel dropped news of the settlement Wednesday.
“This ruling confirms what I’ve known all along,” Diei said in a foundation statement. “I have a right to express myself in my private life that’s separate from school, and so do my classmates. I enrolled in pharmacy school to learn, not to have my taste in music and my thoughts on culture policed.”
“UT’s pharmacy school learned an important lesson today. There is nothing unprofessional about students expressing love of hip-hop and their sexuality on social media,” Greubel wrote. “Kim has proven something FIRE has said for 25 years: The First Amendment robustly protects students’ rights to have a voice outside of school, even if college administrators don’t like what they have to say.”
Though Diei graduated with honors and now works as a pharmacist in Memphis, Tennessee, she’s made it clear she’s “not a fan of UT” after everything that went down.
“I’m relieved,” Diei told USA Today. “There were many nights and many moments throughout this whole ordeal where I didn’t know what my future would look like. To have been able to make it through school, graduate with honors and I’m fully employed, I think it really ended in the best way possible.”
The victory money’s going toward crushing her student debt, investing in the market, and treating herself to a beach getaway.
“It’s at this time that I want to sincerely extend a shout out to my haters. Please continue to watch my page and get mad at every single post that you see,” she fired off on Instagram Wednesday. “Karma will handle you better than I ever could so please remain anonymous because I do not wish to be tempted.”
