George Floyd’s Family Ponders Lawsuit Against Kanye West For Defamation
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George Floyd’s family is mulling over filing a lawsuit against Ye, who has claimed Floyd died from fentanyl.
Lee Merritt, the civil rights attorney representing George Floyd’s family, headed to Twitter on Sunday (Oct. 16) and revealed they’re considering legal action against West.
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“While one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death,” Merritt expressed. “Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.”
According to CNN, Merritt stated that Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, informed him about the video and expressed a desire to pursue a defamation suit against the Jesus Is King musician. The lawyer also admitted that they can’t sue for defamation because George is deceased, but they have other options.
While one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death.
Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.— Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) October 16, 2022
“I have put together a working team to investigate [Ye’s] statements and to investigate the source of those statements,” Merritt declared.
During a recent Drink Champs appearance, the artist formally known as Kanye West ranted about George’s death. Ye claimed he learned “the truth” from Candace Owen’s The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out. One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes,” Ye told hosts N.O.R.E and DJ EFN. “They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
The medical examiner who conducted Floyd’s autopsy asserted the man’s death resulted from “cardiopulmonary arrest” during “law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner, expressed during his testimony that Floyd’s heart disease and use of fentanyl were contributing factors to his death, but not the direct cause.
A viral clip of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes instigated protests worldwide.
The disgraced officer was convicted in April 2021 on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin was ultimately sentenced to 21 years in prison.
