T.I. requested a Los Angeles federal decide to throw out Sabrina Peterson‘s counterclaims for defamation, abuse of process and emotional distress, saying her lawsuit lacks legal standing and violates California’s speech protections.

Attorneys for the Atlanta rap mogul filed a movement on October 29 arguing that Peterson’s second amended counter-complaint needs to be dismissed below California’s litigation privilege and anti-SLAPP regulation.

The anti-SLAPP statute—quick for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation—is designed to forestall individuals from utilizing the courts to silence critics or chill protected speech.

T.I. contends that the statements Peterson is difficult had been made within the context of ongoing litigation and are due to this fact immune from legal responsibility. His legal professionals wrote that the claims “fail as a matter of law” and needs to be tossed earlier than trial.

The movement stems from a December 13, 2024, lawsuit T.I. filed in opposition to Peterson, accusing her of defamation after she posted on Instagram that he was below a federal sex-trafficking investigation related to a celeb case.

T.I. denies the declare, stating that it has broken his popularity.

Peterson responded with counterclaims, together with one for intentional infliction of emotional misery. She cited a July 6, 2025, Instagram video through which T.I. promoted a comedy occasion.

Her submitting claims the video was geared toward her and induced emotional hurt.

But T.I.’s authorized crew says the video by no means talked about Peterson and can’t legally be thought of “extreme and outrageous” conduct, a requirement for an emotional misery declare. His attorneys argue the video was a basic promotion and unrelated to any private dispute.

A listening to on the movement is scheduled for December 4, 2025, earlier than U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin in downtown Los Angeles.

The legal saga between T.I. and Peterson has dragged on for years, beginning with Peterson’s 2021 public accusation that the rap star once held a gun to her head in 2009.

She later sued T.I., his spouse Tiny Harris and a pal for defamation after they publicly denied her claims. That lawsuit stalled in 2023 when a decide dismissed 5 of Peterson’s seven claims.

By March 2025, all the case was dismissed with out prejudice after Peterson missed a number of courtroom deadlines and didn’t pay practically $100,000 in authorized charges to the Harrises.

Peterson tried to revive the case in October 2025, arguing that her former lawyer had mishandled it. The decide rejected her request, citing an absence of excusable neglect and procedural compliance. She has since acknowledged she plans to attraction the ruling.

In the meantime, T.I. filed a separate federal defamation lawsuit in December 2024 focusing on Peterson’s newer Instagram posts, together with the one alleging a federal sex-trafficking probe.

That case prompted Peterson’s present counterclaims, which T.I. now seeks to strike.

The courtroom has ordered each events to attend a settlement convention by November 24, 2025. If no settlement is reached, the trial is ready to start on June 9, 2026.

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