The last I heard of Jason Cross (Mikel Knight) he was suing Facebook because ‘boohoo people don’t think of me how I want and they say things i dont like‘.
The case involves Jason Cross, a “country rap” musician who performs under the name Mikel Knight, who has apparently made a name for himself through a highly aggressive “street team”operation that basically travels around in vans pushing people to buy Knight’s CDs — and there are plenty of accusations of sketchy behavior around how those street teams operate, and how Cross treats the people who work for him. Apparently, Cross was not happy with a Facebook group entitled “Families Against Mike Knight and the MDRST” (MDRST standing for Maverick Dirt Road Street Team, which is what Cross calls the street team). He then used a court in Tennessee to try to get Facebook to identify who was behind the group, and then demanded that the page be taken down. That effort is still ongoing, but has been temporarily postponed, while he then filed a separate lawsuit in Californiaagainst Facebook
Read the whole article here: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160606/00343634630/another-bad-ruling-california-threatens-to-massively-undermine-section-230-exempting-publicity-rights.shtml
It was a pretty stupid complaint and the courts weren’t really being very helpful. Jason Cross claimed, among other things, that Facebook had used his likeness in a commercial setting and therefore infringed on his ‘right of publicity’. The court threw out Jason Cross’ other claims but allowed the question of his right to publicity continue. It was a whole thing, all nonsense, who cares.
But now Facebook has won its appeal to that ruling and the court has agreed that simply having advertisements near where a person is discussed does not infringe on their rights. So that’s nice.
See the full court ruling here: A148623
But that’s not the Jason Cross story I cared about and not really the one I want to tell you guys about. What I cared about… was what I found out about him after the news first broke of him suing Facebook.
After reading what appeared to be his extensive criminal record¹ it was easy to conclude…
Mikel Knight does not look like anybody you’d ever want to support as an artist.
And frankly, I have no idea how anybody could morally justify purchasing a Mikel Knight album…
Source: https://www.pinkink.media/country-rap-and-mikel-knight-words-that-make-me-cringe/
But it didn’t really stop there…
After I first wrote about Jason Cross a person commented on the article… and told a disturbing story…
Jason Cross and the business he runs is suspicious in the extreme to me.
I do not see or understand how his behavior can continue or has been allowed to continue… and yet here we are. Without justice for those who have been obviously wronged.
I suppose the question is one of when rather than if Jason Cross will end up in a criminal court.
My son was “employed” by Mikel Knight and the Duke Boyz which included morons ” Jellyroll” and “Koolwhip”. My son worked from one of the vans for a little over two weeks. He was lead to believe that food and bord was provided. Over the time period worked my son stayed in a Motel for one night and food was provided less than a handful of times. My son and the other guys working were made to sleep in hot vans, in South Carolina during The hot month of July. They had to sell many CD’s and posters just to pull a few dollars from the sales to have food and water!! These guys are working up to 16 hours a day 7 days a week just to survive! The job was supposed to last 22 days. They were told later it was 30 days then 40. After half starving and exhausted my son called for a ride back to Ohio where we live. He made a stop in Nashville, Tennesee to collect his pay and commission from his sales. He was told by Mikel Knights people that because he quit early his pay was null and void!!! He left with no money! How is this possible? Mikel knight, I mean Jason Michael Cross should go back to prison for slavery, abuse and tax evasion!!