blame

STEFON Diggs’ legal fight with his sex assault accuser took a dramatic twist after bombshell new files were dropped.

In explosive documents obtained by The U.S. Sun, Christopher Griffith appears to blame Stefon’s break-up with Cardi B for ruining his NFL career.

He shot back in their legal war after Stefon sued the social media star for defamation over claims the axed New England Patriots player had sexually assaulted him.

The influencer made several posts alleging Stefon had attacked him after a celebrity basketball game in Maryland in May 2023.

In his suit, Stefon claimed that his reputation and, therefore, his income, had been damaged by Christopher’s allegations.

The influencer shot back and said Stefon ruined his reputation himself in several ways, including through his relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend and baby mama, Cardi B.

“There is a significant unresolved question as to whether Mr. Diggs’s claimed emotional distress was caused by sources other than Mr. Griffith’s posts on Instagram,” the influencer wrote in the filing.

The social media star then appeared to blame Stefon’s breakup from Cardi B for ruining his reputation and NFL career.

“During the period in question, Mr. Diggs very publicly started and ended a relationship with the musical artist Cardi B, with Mr. Diggs painted as a villain in the tabloid press,” the eyebrow-raising filing continued – and it didn’t stop there.

He also called out another headline-grabbing incident.

“Mr. Diggs was captured on video distributing an unidentified crystalline substance to women partying with him on a yacht, again widely disseminated by the tabloid press; and his performance as an NFL wide receiver declined materially,” he continued, referring to May 2025 photos of Stefon partying on a yacht with bikini-clad women in Miami.

“Any of these could independently account for reputational harm, emotional distress, or lost business relationships. 

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Cardi B’s team for comment.

Christopher claimed his discovery requests thus far have been met with inadequate responses by Stefon and his legal team. 

He also claimed Stefon, 32, has not been forthcoming with providing information on the loss of brand deals as a result of the allegations against him, specifically with the footwear brand UGG.

Outside of this federal lawsuit, Stefon is connected to another lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Chistopher against the NFL star’s brother, Darez Diggs.

Christopher claimed that about a week after the alleged sexual assault by Stefon in Maryland in 2023, the NFL star’s brother Darez and associates came to his Los Angeles apartment building, beat him up and robbed him of about $100,000 in jewelry and other property. 

That lawsuit is also ongoing. 

One of L.A.’s most unique art galleries is closing up shop.

Gallery 1988, which opened in 2004 and proclaimed itself “the first pop culture-focused art gallery in the world,” will cease operations at the end of April. In a post on Instagram, gallery owner Katie Sutton said that while the gallery had been forced to close its physical space on Melrose a few years back, she had “really tried to keep things going [online], especially for our amazing artists.” Unfortunately, she wrote, “the [art] market is the worst I’ve seen it in over two decades,” and the decision to close became inevitable.

A launching pad for artists whose work paid tribute to television, film, video games and more, Gallery 1988 was renowned for shows like the annual “Crazy 4 Cult,” which showcased pieces celebrating underground classics from across the entertainment space. It also specialized in single-focus shows like “Weird Al,” which celebrated the career of the oddball recording artist “Weird Al” Yankovic, and “You’re the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was,” which paid tribute to the world of Pokémon.

Exhibitions at Gallery 1988, which is closing after 20 years, often featured lines around the block, with fans who camped out for a chance to score a prized piece.

(Courtesy of Gallery 1988)

Perhaps most famously, the gallery collaborated with studios to create art-focused campaigns around properties such as “The Avengers” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” while also launching solo shows from artists like Scott C, Luke Chueh and Tom Whalen.

Gallery 1988 was renowned for selling work that ranged in price from $10 into the thousands, enabling customers from around the world to buy pieces that spoke to them, whether a postcard-sized digital print or a large oil-on-canvas painting.

A number of other galleries have closed in recent months across Los Angeles, including Blum, Nino Mier Gallery, Clearing, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and L.A. Louver. Sutton says that she’s heard through the gallery grapevine that “even galleries that haven’t closed are struggling,” adding that “it’s a hard time for everybody.”

Though there’s never one reason a business closes, some industry observers and art fans have cited the rise in AI-generated content potentially devaluing original art overall. It’s especially true in the pop culture space, with consumer activity down not just at places like Gallery 1988 but also at events such as WonderCon in Anaheim, where artists could often expect to make a good chunk of change.

Jensen Karp, who co-founded Gallery 1988 with Sutton but stepped back after a health scare nearly two years ago, says that while he certainly sees a “malaise in culture because of AI” that’s indicative of the population “losing the understanding of what true art is,” he wouldn’t attribute the collapse of Gallery 1988 solely to that one thing.

Kristin Tercek “Rejoice” 2015 for the “Force Awakens” show with Disney, LucasFilm and Unicef at Gallery 1988.

(© Kristin Tercek / courtesy of Gallery 1988)

“Our customer base was the people who looked up release dates and who went to the Arclight, and that sense of community is just not there anymore post-pandemic,” Karp says. With the entertainment industry struggling in L.A. as well, that means less disposable income floating around for things like art — especially from the kinds of people who might be inclined to buy a portrait of, say, Steve Martin in the movie “The Jerk.”

Greg Simkins, a California based artist who often sold through Gallery 1988 under the name “CRAOLA,” says he’s felt the impact of the entertainment industry’s contraction firsthand. “People like directors, producers and actors were some of our biggest clients,” Simkins says. “All of the sudden they’re leaving, going to places like Atlanta and Canada. AI is screwing up the movie industry too, and those are the kinds of people who had expendable money to buy original art so it trickles down.”

It doesn’t help that there’s more pop culture-centered art floating around now, and not just on sites like Instagram and Etsy. Though Gallery 1988 was a frontrunner in celebrating popular culture through art when it opened, even hosting a “Rick and Morty”-themed show before the Adult Swim series had a lick of merchandise, it also became a proof of concept for companies including Disney and Netflix, which have started selling their own artist-created material inspired by their properties.

And with Hollywood releasing fewer movies into theaters, the base of what Gallery 1988 artists could pay tribute to also began to contract. Frequent gallery contributor Whalen says that when Gallery 1988 opened, it was filling a niche and “creating fresh content for movies that spoke to” people in their 20s and 30s. Over time, though, art that celebrated properties like “Ghostbusters,” “Back to the Future” and “The Goonies” started to overwhelm the market, causing “a lot of the 1970s and ‘80s movies to become stale,” Whalen says.

Scott C’s “Breaking Bad Upon the Mount,” 2012, for the “Breaking Bad Art Project: With Sony and Vince Gilligan” at Gallery 1988.

(© Scott C. / courtesy of Gallery 1988)

While Sutton and Karp both say they’re beyond grateful that they got to open Gallery 1988 in the first place, let alone keep it open for more than 20 years, they’re worried about what closing the gallery will mean to some of their contributing artists.

“There are so many incredible artists out there and there are so many more places for them to show their work now and that’s amazing,” Sutton says. “But with that bombardment of media from everywhere, it’s hard to really see stuff because it’s coming at you from all directions. So many artists are out there trying to make a living and support their families and that’s just becoming harder and harder.”

“So many of the artists we showed never expected to have an art gallery email them,” Karp says. “I’m so proud of all the artists we worked with and what we were able to do, but I also know that [Gallery 1988 shutting down] closes up an avenue for all of them too and that sucks.”

Drivers lined up for free gas in Chicago as fuel prices surge, driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupting global oil supplies, with some blaming President Donald Trump.