TikTok influencer told to pay Rs 15 crore to manager’s wife over affair, rules US jury

TikTok influencer ordered to pay

A North Carolina jury in the US has ordered TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard to pay $1.75 million, roughly Rs 15 crore, to her former manager’s wife after finding that an affair with him destroyed the couple’s marriage. The high-profile civil case has drawn global attention because it uses an old legal route that still allows spouses to sue their partner’s lover.

What the jury decided

The verdict was delivered on November 10 by a Durham County jury, which found Kennard liable on two civil counts, alienation of affection and criminal conversation, both linked to interference in a marriage. The jury awarded $1.5 million for alienation of affection and $250,000 for criminal conversation to plaintiff Akira Montague, whose husband, Tim Montague, had been Kennard’s manager.

According to court filings, Akira argued that her marriage to Tim, solemnised in 2018, was loving and stable until Kennard entered the picture. The lawsuit claimed Kennard “seduced” Tim, and that their intimate relationship, including sexual messages and encounters, began while the couple were still married and living together with their children.

How the affair reportedly unfolded

Reports from local and international outlets say the relationship began as a professional and online connection and then turned into an affair around 2023. Akira’s complaint said Kennard’s behaviour grew increasingly flirtatious, and later escalated into a full-blown relationship that allegedly included intimate meetings in the marital home and frequent exchanges of explicit content.

Akira also said Kennard posted videos featuring Tim and, at times, the children without her consent, triggering online abuse and even threats against her. She told the court the affair left her humiliated, caused mental anguish and deprived her children of a two-parent household.

Kennard’s defence and the law behind the case

Kennard has strongly criticised the verdict, calling it “outrageous” and insisting that Akira already knew the marriage was effectively over. She claims Akira even consented to the relationship because she had accepted that the marriage had broken down, and has indicated she may challenge the ruling.

The case rests on North Carolina’s alienation of affection law, a legal relic that survives in only a handful of US states. It allows a spouse to sue a third party who is alleged to have intentionally damaged a marriage. While many states have abolished such lawsuits, North Carolina juries have previously handed out multimillion-dollar awards, and this latest verdict ranks among the largest of its kind.