Mother of George Floyd's daughter plans to file lawsuit against Ye

After Ye claimed that George Floyd's death was caused by fentanyl, Floyd's family says they plan to take legal action.

Roxie Washington, mother of Floyd's daughter Gianna, plans to file a $250 million lawsuit against the rapper for the "defamation" and "emotional distress" caused by his comments made during an appearance on the “Drink Champs” podcast Sunday, according to a press release from Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law obtained by USA TODAY on Tuesday.

It is not clear yet where the lawsuit will be filed.

Ye "knowingly made blatantly false statements about George Floyd’s death to promote his brands, and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates," the release states.

USA TODAY has reached out to Ye's representatives for comment.

In addition to the lawsuit, attorneys for Floyd's family have issued a cease-and-desist letter to Ye, demanding that he remove the "Drink Champs" interview and "all similar statements regarding George Floyd from every podcast, website, advertisement, and social media site," as well as refrain from publishing future statements about Floyd.

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"The interests of the child are a priority," said attorney Nuru Witherspoon of Gianna, the sole beneficiary of Floyd’s estate, in the release.

Witherspoon added that Floyd's daughter is "being retraumatized" by Ye's comments about her late father, which are "creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her."

Over the weekend, the rapper-turned-fashion-designer reflected on his viewing of the documentary "The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM," and in the process made controversial comments about the manner in which Floyd died.

The documentary, written by and starring conservative political commentator Candace Owens, reexamines the "racially-divided aftermath" following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died while being restrained by former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in police custody in May 2020.

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Ye told "Drink Champs" hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN that Floyd died of fentanyl consumption rather than the physical impact of Chauvin’s restraint.

"They hit (Floyd) with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that," Ye said. "They said he screamed for his mama; mama was his girlfriend. It’s in the documentary."

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Despite Ye’s claim, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruled in June 2020 that Floyd's death was a homicide caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest," complicated by "restraint and neck compression" while he was being subdued by police.

Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Loyola University Medical Center, also testified during Chauvin's trial that Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck.

Similarly, an independent autopsy commissioned by Floyd's family ruled "asphyxiation from sustained pressure was the cause" of Floyd's death.

While findings from Floyd's autopsy revealed 11 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl in his blood, medical experts called as prosecution witnesses agreed the amount of fentanyl was not enough to be considered fatal.

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Following Ye’s comments on Floyd on Sunday, civil rights attorney Lee Merritt said the Floyd family was "considering suit for (Ye’s) false statements about the manner of (Floyd's) death," according to a statement shared on Twitter.

"Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl, not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight," Merritt added.

On Monday, Floyd's sister LaTonya told People in a statement that the family's reaction to Ye's comments was "explosive."

"The judge took the gavel in his hands and slammed it on the table, and his death was ruled as murder — which we all know it was," LaTonya told the outlet. "We have been through a lot. We have suffered a whole lot, and we are still suffering. The marches and the fights for justice are never gonna stop. For us to hear someone of color say something like that, it's a really painful place."

The "Donda" emcee has recently found himself in a media firestorm after unveiling a surprise Yzy fashion show in Paris earlier this month, during which he wore a black sweatshirt with the phrase "WHITE LIVES MATTER" written across the back.

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired in part Oct. 6, Ye said his shirt delivered an obvious message and called backlash he's received "a setup."

"The answer to why I wrote 'White Lives Matter' on a shirt is because they do," Ye said. "It’s the obvious thing."

Ye went on to describe his detractors as "practically made in a laboratory."

"One of the things that they're really good at doing is being nice and being likable," he said. "They have people that are around them at all times telling them what to be afraid of. It’s not what to do and say specifically, it’s what to be afraid of."

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Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff and McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Floyd's family plans to file lawsuit against Kanye West