KittiB Lawsuit Against Black Nut
On June 8th, 2017, it was reported that rapper KittiB had filed a lawsuit against rapper Black Nut, who’s also a former contestant of Mnet’s Show Me the Money 4, for defamation. KittiB’s agency Brand New Music announced that she had sued Black Nut toB the prosecution office on May 25th, 2017.
Prior to this case, KittiB had shared on her social media account, feeling hurt and offended by Black Nut’s lyrics from his song “Too Real” that said, “Not KittiB this time, I won’t **** her even if you give it to me,” and “Truthfully, I’ve ****** to a photo of KittiB.”
KittiB then spoke up about her feeling regarding Black Nut’s lyrics , “On the outside, I acted like I was fine, but honestly, I felt very angry and ashamed. I recently realized that it wasn’t right to just let it go. I feel hurt, stressed, and traumatized, yet people have been mocking me and spreading rumors. I will no longer put up with this.”
KittiB also commented on the issue in an interview with News1, “He is always acting absurdly. I regret not reacting sooner.”
One of the questions also asked about how KittiB felt regarding her complaint against Black Nut. Responding to these questions, she answered, “I thought I was a pretty positive person, but I guess I did get stressed out from [Black Nut’s lyrics]. I lost sleep and suffered from extreme stress. I had to halt the preparation of my album.” She also admitted that it hadn’t been the easiest decision to sue Black Nutt and that she needed a lot of courage to sue him.
She confessed, “I hope immoral lyrics and actions are no longer tolerated under the name of ‘hip-hop.’ And I hope that laws pertaining to sexual crime are further enforced. I hope we can live in a society where victims can feel confident.”
Lastly, KittiB sent her gratitude to her fans and others who supported her, saying “I will try harder to become a musician who puts out better music and a better message. I gained more responsibility through this incident. Please look forward to my future albums.”
On September 4th, 2017, an official statement regarding the development of the case was released by Brand New Agency, “Seoul Bangbae Police Department that is in charge of the case sent it to prosecution last week.”
It was revealed that KittiB has brought her complaint to the Female and Juvenile Crime Investigation Department at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office. She filed the report that the Black Nut’s lyrics contained a violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning Sexual Violence (lewd use of communication media) and contempt. The prosecutor’s office then ordered the police to investigate.
Then on June 25th, 2018, on top of Black Nut’s defamation complaint, he received an additional charge from the prosecution. The additional charge was added due to KittiB’s complaints that he explicitly insulted her while performing. There was a total of four times of insults happening in 2016 and 2017.
The two charges appeared for his fourth trial on August 16th, 2018. But during this trial, Black Nut continued to deny these charges.
On October 18th, 2018, Black Nut was demanded one year in prison with two years of probation by the prosecution at a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court. They demanded Black Nut be in probation for two years, and to serve one year in prison if there were violation regarding the condition of the suspension during those two years probation. Along with this request, the prosecution did not provide any additional explanation regarding the sentence recommendation.
Black Nut insisted on his innocence while attending the hearing with his lawyer. His lawyer stated that his gimmick was just a part of a normal hip-hop performance. This comment was made in response to his performances where he made lewd gestures while bringing up KittiB’s name. His lawyer stated that the lyrics had no direct relations to the plaintiff and Black Nut had no intent to offend or insult KittiB.
Black Nut’s lawyer also stated, “As a well-known hip-hop singer, the defendant is also having a difficult time. Even if [the plaintiff] felt uncomfortable, it remains a question if it’s something to be punished for. I can’t help but consider the defendant’s status as a popular artist.”
Black Nut responded in his final statement, “I regret that the public perceived and believed my lyrics differently than what I originally intended. Whatever my intentions were, I feel responsible for causing a social controversy. I will become a careful musician for my future creative activities.”
Black Nut then received his first sentence for sexual insults against KittiB on January 10th, 2019. Black Nut received a total of two years of probation by The Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to, with the possibility of a six-month prison sentence if he commits a violation or repeated his fault during his probation period, and ordered 160 hours of community service.
During the trial, the court added, “The defendant persistently mocked the victim and inflicted additional damage. We have not seen any remorse or regret in the course of the trial. Despite considering the characteristics of the hip-hop genre, the vulgarity [of his expressions] and sexual insults posted on social media constitute contempt.”
Black Nut also expressed his opinion in the trial, “I hope people who do hip-hop music can express their feelings more freely.”
The case kept going when on August 12th, 2019, in Black Nut’s appeal, judges upheld the initial sentence.
They stated, “It appears that the defendant used the plaintiff as sexual target and used derogatory and explicit language, and we have determined that [Black Nut] was fully aware in doing so that his actions were degrading.”
In the meantime, Black Nut still insisted on pleading innocence, claiming that disses are common expressions in hip-hop.
The judges then responded, “Though the defendant is claiming that as a diss in hip-hop music, his actions are acceptable, we don’t believe there is a reason to make an exception for just the genre of hip-hop.”
Finally, after back and forth trials, The Supreme Court of Korea made its final ruling regarding Black Nut’s case of defamation against rapper KittiB on December 12th, 2019. Black Nut’s received a final sentence of two years of probation, with the possibility of a six-month prison sentence if he commits a repeat offense during his probation period. Black Nut was also to do 160 hours of community service as part of his obligation.
With these sexual harassment trials, KittiB has gained sympathy from the public who also condemns Black Nut’s behavior, as most of the comments on Netizenbuzz suggest:
[+48, -0] As if the lyrics didn’t piss her off enough, Black Nut acted like he was apologizing in another post but was totally taking jabs at her between the lines. Swings then posted on Instagram taking another jab about how this whole thing was annoying him… He not only did a wrong but made it worse with his so-called apology. I truly hope he gets what he deserves.
[+27, -1] The hip-hop losers in our country can’t write a lyric without taking down women ㅋㅋ tsk tsk
[+20, -0] Something about his face just makes it so hard to like him. He looks so… dirty? Something about his eyes makes him look evil.
[+375, -10] I support you (KittiB). I thought he would at least apologize when you first said you were going to file a lawsuit but he handled everything so poorly. Fighting!
So, those are all the things that you need to know regarding former Unpretty Rapstar contestant KittiB. What do you think about her? Tell us your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!
