BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has filed a lawsuit against a College Station woman, seeking damages for defamation and tortious interference with business relationships. Friday morning, Judge Jerrell Wise granted Manziel a far-reaching emergency Temporary Restraining Order, limiting the defendant’s ability to communicate with or about Manziel.
Manziel filed suit Friday, Feb. 27, in Brazos County district court against MaKenzie Carter, also known as MaKenzie Calame. The lawsuit accuses Carter of spreading fabricated stories about Manziel across multiple social media platforms and directly emailing his friends, family members, and business associates with false claims about a fictitious romantic relationship between the two.
“We’re saddened that we had to go down this route,” Manziel’s lawyer Aron Hutchins told KBTX. “It was just the only option we had left and it was unavoidable to protect Johnny and his friends and family and business associates and all that from continued messages all the time.”
Court documents filed by Manziel claim Carter posted “hours’ worth of baseless, unrelated, and entirely fabricated stories” about Manziel on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. The suit goes on to say Carter emailed dozens of people connected to Manziel, threatening them with legal action if they “continued” to interfere with what she described as her relationship with him.
A cursory review of the aforementioned social media handles reveals hours’ worth of baseless, unrelated, and entirely fabricated stories about Manziel, as well as his family, his friends, and business colleagues, with absolutely no grounding in fact or reality.
The lawsuit says at least one business partner has paused or delayed entering into a deal with Manziel because of Carter’s communications, and that she also interfered with at least one existing business contract.
KBTX was among those who received an email earlier in February claiming to be from Carter. The lengthy email addressed publishing content about her, including AI-generated and manipulated media, or repeating a “fabricated ‘stalker’ narrative involving [Carter] in connection with Johnny Manziel.” KBTX had not previously published any reporting involving Carter.
Manziel did not communicate with Carter before or after her online stories and communications began, Hutchins confirmed.
Manziel’s petition says he initially chose not to pursue legal action, in part out of “compassion rooted from his own adversities,” hoping Carter would stop on her own. The suit says he acted “out of empathy and a genuine concern for Defendant’s well-being,” but the escalation of the behavior required legal intervention.
Brazos County Judge Jerrell Wise granted Manziel’s emergency TRO without requiring prior notice to Carter, finding that Manziel faced “probable, imminent, and irreparable injury” if the order was not issued immediately.
Under the order, Carter is prohibited from posting or sharing any false or misleading statements about Manziel on any social media platform or public forum, contacting Manziel directly in any form, reaching out to his friends, family, or business associates about him, and engaging in any conduct that constitutes stalking, harassment, or surveillance.
A hearing on the temporary restraining order is set for Friday, March 6, in Brazos County’s 472nd District Court.
Manziel, who now lives in Maricopa County, Arizona, rose to fame as the starting quarterback at Texas A&M from 2011 to 2013, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2012. The lawsuit notes he “has remained in the public eye and has engaged in various business ventures dependent upon his reputation, goodwill, and professional relationships.”
Manziel is seeking monetary damages of $250,000 or less, attorney’s fees, and a permanent injunction. He is represented by Bryan attorneys Aron Hutchins and Padon Holt of Holt & Hutchins, PLLC, and Cameron Reynolds of the Law Offices of James, Reynolds, Ask & Kleinschmidt.
“We also just wanted to stress that the non-monetary relief is the primary concern,” Hutchins said. “The behavior is unacceptable, and so that’s the focus here, just getting the conduct to stop and having her leave everybody alone.”
Carter has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court filings, but has been sent an email informing her that the suit has been filed before she is officially served, according to Hutchins. KBTX has reached out to Carter for comment.
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