Woman Wins $250,000 After Being Threatened With Expulsion for Tweeting Cardi B "WAP" Lyrics

Kimberly Diei, a former University of Tennessee pharmacy student, was awarded $250,000 after the college threatened her expulsion over social media posts with lyrics from Cardi B’s “WAP.”

Diei, with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued the university in 2021, arguing that her First Amendment rights were violated and that the public institution had no right to police her personal, off-campus social media activity, USA Today reports.

For the tweet in question, Diei wrote in August 2020 to Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion asking to “be on the remix,” along with her own verse for the controversial, pandemic-era song.

“I ain’t got that WAP he give gwap so that he can get a lick,” read Diei’s post, as shared by the foundation. “He ain’t my pops but I call him DAD cuz he got that dop ass dick.”

A separate post read, “Spent all this time getting my hair done just for your man to fuck it up.”

The university determined that posts made by Diei under her X account, then known as Twitter, were “crude,” “vulgar,” or “sexual,” per the complaint.

In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled in her favor, reversing an earlier district court decision in August 2023 that Diei’s lawsuit would be dismissed because her social media posts were not protected by the First Amendment.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, along with Diei’s attorney, Greg H. Greubel, announced the settlement on Wednesday.

“This ruling confirms what I’ve known all along,” Diei said in a press release from the foundation. “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.”

Diei has since graduated from the university with honors and is now a practicing pharmacist in Memphis, Tennessee, but expressed she’s “not a fan of UT” due to the legal ordeal.

"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."

She also told the newspaper that she will be using the settlement to pay off student loans, invest in stocks, and celebrate with a tropical vacation.

“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 wrote in a post on Wednesday to her Instagram account. "Karma will handle you better than I ever could so please remain anonymous because I do not wish to be tempted."