A Texas jury has made a clear decision in a case that once made people all over the country angry and made headlines. Five years after a classmate said that Asher Vann bullied him because of his race at a sleepover, jurors gave Vann, who is now a freshman in college, $3.2 million in damages.
Asher Vann Breaks Silence After Huge Win
They said that false claims and a viral story caused him a lot of emotional pain and invaded his privacy. I don’t feel as scared and small as I did back then. “I feel like I’m being heard,” Vann said on ‘The Will Cain Show’ on Tuesday.
The case came about because of an event in 2021 when 13-year-old SeMarion Humphrey said that Vann and a few other boys shot him with a BB gun and made him drink urine during a sleepover. These claims were quickly framed as race-based bullying, which got national media attention, protests, and activists involved.
“I feel people will understand me, and people will listen to me and help me climb up this uphill battle.”
Vann Said The Claims Were Very Wrong
“We went hunting for frogs. We had big jackets on, so dumb kids, we each took shots at each other like a Nerf war, except with airsoft guns,” he recalled.
“Then, after, Humphrey fell asleep, and way before that, we all agreed, whoever falls asleep first gets pranked, and he got pranked, and it was nasty, but it was not like this big racial torture that it was played out to be.”
Trial By Social Media Nightmare
Police investigations at the time did not lead to any arrests, and Vann was never charged with a crime. But the accusations spread quickly on social media, leading to protests in the Vann family’s neighborhood and calls for school officials to kick him out.
“Everything’s happening all at once. You don’t know what to do. You go into immediate protection mode and are protecting your family,” he replied.
“I wanted to get our story up, but I knew that there was a way to do that in an appropriate manner that wasn’t trial by social media.”
Vann’s Attorney Sends Loud Message
Attorney Justin Nichols told Fox News that the jury was made up of five African Americans, three Asians, two Latinos, and the rest were white. He said that the jury carefully weighed the evidence before making its decision.
While on the air, he also replied to what Smith said: “This is emblematic of somebody who continues to refuse to accept responsibility. Throughout the case, throughout their depositions, and even on the stand, they continued to push this false narrative of racism that they know did not exist, that was untrue, and they continued to double down instead of finally taking some responsibility for hurting so many lives.”
Will Cain asked Asher Vann if he feels he got his reputation back after the civil jury sided with him. He said no, and he does not know when it will happen.
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