A North Carolina jury has ordered TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard to pay $1.75 million to a woman who claimed Kennard stole her husband. The verdict, delivered Monday, included $1.5 million for "alienation of affection," the claim that Kennard came between the couple, and another $250,000 for "criminal conversation," the state's term for having sex with someone else's spouse. The case drew national attention in part because North Carolina is one of only six states that still allows jilted spouses to sue a partner's lover, and because Kennard has 3 million followers on TikTok, where she posts lifestyle content, per the News & Observer. An attorney for plaintiff Akira Montague claimed Kennard "flaunted her relationship" with Timothy Montague online, per WTVD.
Kennard represented herself in court and denied being sexually active with Timothy Montague while he was still with his wife. She argued that the lawsuit was about money and retaliation, and that she was targeted because of her high profile. "This was a marriage that had been falling apart for years," Kennard told the jury, adding that Timothy Montague made his own decisions. The trial included a spotlight on Kennard's social media activity, with videos and messages scrutinized as evidence. In one clip, Kennard said she was "getting down and dirty in the sheets." In another, she was seen buying a pregnancy test. In a third, Kennard reportedly spoke about legal troubles from the relationship, stating Timothy Montague was "worth it."
The jury took less than two hours to side with Akira Montague, who sought $3.5 million in damages and insisted she never consented to her husband's relationship with Kennard. Her supporters "cheered for two minutes straight with chants of 'Team A-kira!' ringing through Courtroom 7A," reports the News & Observer. WTVD reports the $1.75 million verdict is "the third-highest award in North Carolina history for an alienation of affection case."
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