Kanye ‘Ye’ West to Face $250 Million Lawsuit Over False Claims About George Floyd’s Murder
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Ye, the rapper and multi-hyphenate artist formerly known as Kanye West, is reportedly to be sued for $250 million by George Floyd’s family.
Citing “harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress,” the Floyd family and their representatives shared a release, obtained by TheWrap, stating the lawsuit is forthcoming. The suit is in response to the false claims Ye made over Floyd’s murder during a recent appearance on the “Drink Champs” podcast.
Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s daughter, who is still a minor, will file the suit through the Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law. The two firms jointly represent Floyd’s only child and the sole beneficiary of his estate.
The suit will target Ye as well as his “business partners” and “associates,” arguing that Ye’s false comments, in which he said Floyd died of a fentanyl-induced drug overdose, had done irreparable harm to Floyd’s surviving family.
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“Free Speech Rights do not include harassment, lies, misrepresentation, and the misappropriation of George Floyd’s legacy. Some words have consequences and Mr. West will be made to understand that,” said Attorney Kay Harper Williams, partner at The Witherspoon Law Group, in a statement.
Attorney Nuru Witherspoon, partner at The Witherspoon Law Group added that the interests of Floyd’s child come first, and that she “is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
“Kanye’s comments are a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death. We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy,” stated Attorney Pat D. Dixon, III, partner at Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law.
While the full interview has been removed from YouTube and Revolt TV, clips from Ye’s “Drink Champs” podcast appearance still live online, with one in particular going viral this week showing Ye attempt to explain Floyd’s cause of death as fentanyl, referencing Candace Owens’ new documentary “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM.”
“If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that,” Ye said of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of homicide in the case.
This is the latest development in a particularly newsworthy month for the embattled Ye, including his move to purchase alt-right social media platform Parler, his wearing of a controversial “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and his interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson in which he expressed various anti-Semitic views.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
