A former University of Tennessee pharmacy student was awarded $250,000 after arguing that her First Amendment rights were violated when the college threatened to expel her over a social media post containing lyrics from the rapper Cardi B's hit song, "WAP."
Kimberly Diei sued UT's Health Science Center College of Pharmacy in 2021 after her post on X, then known as Twitter, prompted two administrative investigations and nearly led to her expulsion, according to the complaint obtained by USA TODAY. The college deemed Diei's post, which she shared under the pseudonym "KimmyKasi," were too "crude," "vulgar" or "sexual," the lawsuit says.
Diei alleged that "her public university (was) violating her constitutional rights by policing personal, off-campus expression on social media," the complaint reads.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) announced the settlement on Wednesday with the nonprofit and Diei's attorney, Greg H. Greubel, saying, "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."
"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," Greubel continued.
"From the very beginning, I wanted to let people know that you're entitled to a personal life, even if you're a working professional," Diei told USA TODAY on Thursday during an interview. "I don't think it's right, especially for a public institution, to police what you're doing outside of the classroom (and) outside of the institution as long as you're acting within the confines of the law."
Melissa Tindell, a UT spokesperson, told USA TODAY on Thursday, "It is our general practice to refrain from commenting on legal matters."
The post in question included lyrics from Cardi B's song "WAP," which became one of the most sexually explicit songs ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
Diei, a University of Chicago graduate who was pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at UT, posted the lyrics in 2020 from "WAP" and tagged Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, another female rapper who is featured on the song.
In addition to the "WAP" post, Diei alluded to the Beyoncé song "Partition" in a separate post saying, "Spent all this time getting my hair done just for your man to (expletive) it up."
In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled in favor of Diei and FIRE. The federal appeals court ruling reversed an earlier decision in August 2023, when a district court dismissed Diei's lawsuit, claiming that her posts were not protected by the First Amendment.
"This ruling confirms what I've known all along," Diei said in a FIRE news release. "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."
Diei graduated from UT's pharmacy school and is now a practicing pharmacist at a Walgreens store in Memphis, Tennessee, she told USA TODAY during the interview on Thursday.
"I'm relieved," Diei said. "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."
Going forward, Diei said she is going to "focus on the blessing that this unfortunate and traumatic event" brought her, which includes the ability to pay her student loans, save for a rainy day, invest in stocks and even afford a nice vacation soon.
"I'm definitely going to take a nice trip to truly celebrate not only graduating but just doing so with all the stuff I had to go through just to get the degree," according to Diei. "Somewhere tropical on a yacht with a drink in my hand."
Although Diei graduated from UT and still has relationships with specific faculty members, she said she's "not a fan of UT" due to the legal back-and-forth coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic putting extensive stress on healthcare workers.
Following the settlement announcement on Wednesday, Diei shared a post on her Instagram account "Kimmy Kasị," saying, "It's at this time that I want to sincerely extend a shout out to my haters... I hope my continued success in the future eats you up inside and you think about me every single time you log on."
"Karma will handle you better than I ever could so please remain anonymous because I do not wish to be tempted," the post continued. "Thank you again for giving me 250,000 reasons to smile."