From Manno v. Campbell, decided Wednesday by Judge Denise Cote (S.D.N.Y.):
As of September 12, 2021, [Kelly] Manno has more than 1 million followers on TikTok. Manno created and owns all rights to the two one-minute-long Videos posted on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram entitled "HomeGirl Hotline." The first Video was posted on August 9, 2020, and the second on September 4, 2020. Both Videos revolve around a fictional service hotline through which callers can order a "homegirl."
In both Videos, a woman calls the HomeGirl Hotline to speak to a dispatcher. The caller explains the nature of her problem, the dispatcher asks clarifying questions, and the dispatcher sends a Homegirl. In the first Video, the dispatched HomeGirl throws a cheating husband's belongings out of the house and slashes his car's tires. In the second Video, the HomeGirl beats the mother of a child bully. Advertisements for "Homegirl Hoodies" available for purchase at Manno's website are interspersed throughout the Videos.
The defendants are the creators, producers, and broadcasters of a television program airing on HBO Max entitled "That Damn Michael Che." On April 26, 2021, the defendants released a 23-minute Episode of the program entitled "Only Built 4 Leather Suits." Four of Episode's ten sketches are built around the use of a fictional mobile app called "homegrrl" to order a homegirl.
The Episode begins with Che entering a confessional in a Catholic Church. While the Episode cuts to other scenes, the Episode returns to the confessional scene as Che complains that a female bouncer at a nightclub embarrassed him when she denied him entry in front of his friends. Che explains that he would never hit a woman because he doesn't want to get "cancelled" but asks the priest "do you ever want to sock a lady because she made you feel small in front of your friends?" The Episode then cuts to a scene in a supermarket, launching the first of the four "homegrrl" segments.
