Shayla Stevens has not been paid by Da Brat. A Cobb County jury awarded the former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader $6.4 million in February 2014 after the rapper struck her in the head with a rum bottle at a Georgia nightclub, but as of the last public reporting in January 2019, Stevens had not received a dime — and by then interest had pushed the amount owed to roughly $8 million, and Da Brat had filed for bankruptcy.1Hip-Hop Wired. Da Brat’s $8 Million Assault Case and Bankruptcy
What the $6.4 Million Verdict Covered
The judgment came out of a Halloween 2007 attack at Studio 72, a Tucker, Georgia nightclub owned by Jermaine Dupri. Shawntae Harris, known as Da Brat, hit Stevens in the face with a rum bottle, leaving her with permanent facial scarring and what her attorney described as a permanent brain injury.2Pollstar. Da Brat’s Costly Assault
Stevens sued in 2009 in Cobb County Superior Court for assault and battery. On February 27, 2014, the jury returned $3.7 million in compensatory damages for medical costs, future care, and lost earnings, plus $2.7 million in punitive damages to punish what it found was intentional, malicious conduct.3AL.com. Atlanta Rapper Da Brat Ordered to Pay $6.4 Million
Why Nothing Has Been Paid
Winning was the easy part. In the years after the verdict, Da Brat produced no payment and, according to Stevens’ attorneys, resisted turning over financial records that would show what she could pay.
By June 2018, more than four years after the verdict, Stevens still had not collected anything.4Ebony. Da Brat Could Lose Set It Off Paycheck to Assault Victim Her lawyers tried to garnish income Da Brat was earning from a touring stage adaptation of Set It Off, subpoenaing Ticketmaster for salary and contract information. Ticketmaster resisted, arguing Da Brat was not its employee. Stevens’ team also sought records tied to Da Brat’s work on the syndicated show Dish Nation and other income sources.5EURweb. Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri Pulled Into Da Brat’s $8M Bankruptcy Case
The Bankruptcy Filing
In August 2018, Da Brat filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. She listed more than $7 million in debts against just $108,700 in assets, most of it three vehicles, including a 1999 Mercedes valued at $5,000.6Page Six. Da Brat Files for Bankruptcy, Owes Over $7M Stevens’ $6.4 million judgment was listed as a liability alongside $1.25 million owed to Sony Music. The filing triggered an automatic stay that froze Stevens’ collection efforts.
By that point, interest had grown the amount owed to Stevens to approximately $8,155,731.7Atlanta Black Star. Da Brat Makes It Clear She’s Received No Financial Help From Famous Pal Mariah Carey
The Fight Over Whether the Debt Can Be Wiped Out
Bankruptcy does not automatically erase every debt. Under federal law, a debt arising from “willful and malicious injury” to another person is not dischargeable, but the creditor has to ask the bankruptcy court to say so, or the debt disappears by default.8Cornell Law Institute. 11 U.S.C. § 523 – Exceptions to Discharge9United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy
On January 18, 2019, Stevens filed that challenge inside the bankruptcy case, arguing that because the rum-bottle assault was willful, the judgment had to survive.1Hip-Hop Wired. Da Brat’s $8 Million Assault Case and Bankruptcy Her attorneys also pressed on statements Da Brat had made suggesting she could get funds from Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey, demanding records of any transactions with either. In a November 2018 filing, Da Brat denied receiving any financial help from Carey and said there were “no relevant financial transactions or documents” between them.7Atlanta Black Star. Da Brat Makes It Clear She’s Received No Financial Help From Famous Pal Mariah Carey
Where Things Stand
How the bankruptcy court ruled on dischargeability has not been publicly reported. Da Brat has continued to work in entertainment and launch business ventures with her wife, Jesseca “Judy” Dupart, and one financial estimate placed her net worth at roughly $5 million as of early 2025.10Yahoo Finance. Hip-Hop Powerhouse Da Brat Whether any of that has reached Stevens is not known from available public reporting. What is confirmed is that through the last documented moment in the case, Stevens had collected nothing.