Rapper Afroman Wins Defamation Lawsuit Over Use of Police Raid Footage In His Music Videos (billboard.com)
- Reference: 0181050652
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/19/1912217/rapper-afroman-wins-defamation-lawsuit-over-use-of-police-raid-footage-in-his-music-videos
- Source link: https://www.billboard.com/pro/afroman-trial-verdict-rapper-wins-lawsuit-cops-music-videos/
> Rapper [2]Afroman , born Joseph Edgar Foreman, famous for his 2000 hit " [3]Because I Got High ", has [4]won a defamation lawsuit that seven Ohio police offers filed against him . A jury found he did not defame the officers in music videos he made about a 2022 police raid of his home. In August 2022, Adams County Sheriff's Department raided Afroman's home on suspicion of drug trafficking and kidnapping. Neither drugs nor kidnapping victims were found, and charges were never filed. However, local officials would not pay for damages occurred during the raid including a broken front door and a video surveillance camera. Afroman used his home security footage of the raid to create music rap videos criticizing the police over the incident; " [5]Will You Help Me Repair My Door? ", " [6]Why You Disconnecting My Video Camera? ", and " [7]Lemon Pound Cake ". He posted the videos on YouTube.
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> In March 2023, seven officers filed a lawsuit against Afroman for invasion of privacy and the unauthorized use of their images from the security footage in addition to defamation claims. The officers requested an injunction for Afroman to stop speaking about them or using their photos. The officers also wanted all proceeds from the videos, song sales, performances, and merchandise claiming they had suffered "emotional distress" due to the videos. Afroman's defense included Freedom of Speech rights to criticize public officials. The ACLU [8]filed an amicus brief supporting the rapper, arguing that the lawsuit was a SLAPP suit only meant to silence criticism. In October 2023, the court agreed and dismissed the invasion of privacy, "right of publicity", and "unauthorized use of individual's persona" claims but allowed the defamation case to proceed.
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> Defamation claims by the officers included the allegation Afroman repeatedly had sex with the wife of Randolph L. Walters, Jr. When Afroman's lawyer asked Walters "But we all know that's not true, right?", the officer replied he did not know. Defamation from emotional damages requires that harm arise from a false statement; however, if a statement is so outrageous that no one would believe it to be true, then reputational damage cannot be a result.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~UnknowingFool
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroman
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYsTmIzjkw
[4] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/afroman-keeps-trolling-cops-after-winning-lemon-pound-cake-defamation-case/
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oponIfu5L3Y
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISe3IVBBbyU&pp=ygUld2h5IHlvdSBkaXNjb25uZWN0aW5nIG15IHZpZGVvIGNhbWVyYQ%3D%3D
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xxK5yyecRo&pp=ygUQbGVtb24gcG91bmQgY2FrZQ%3D%3D
[8] https://www.aclu.org/cases/cooley-v-foreman-aka-afroman
Re: (Score:2)
When life gives you lemons, make Lemon Pound Cake.
Re: (Score:1)
You beat me to it!
Re: (Score:2)
Great minds think alike... but I was just quoting Afroman, so give him credit for it.
Justice for lemon pound cake! (Score:3, Insightful)
It is legitimately frightening that there was the slightest chance that the courts would find in favor of the police in what would normally be an open and shut case of freedom of speech and the first amendment. But we've had decades of Court packing by incompetent and extremely right wing nut jobs so we can't really trust the courts anymore to uphold law.
We probably should do something about that but hey how about those trans girls in sports?
He won the defamation lawsuit... (Score:4, Funny)
and then he got high!
Re: (Score:2)
How would you celebrate beating the fat lazy cops in court?
Re: He won the defamation lawsuit... (Score:2)
They're mentally lazy. If they would have thought before acting... Well, they wouldn't be cops.
Re: (Score:2)
> How would you celebrate beating the fat lazy cops in court?
Just to be clear, cop-beating is not okay, in court or out. Unless it's consensual.
Re: (Score:1)
> Just to be clear, cop-beating is not okay, in court or out. Unless it's consensual.
Which it probably is - they are so violent because they're looking for a bit of loving reciprocation.
Re: (Score:1)
Like that cops wife. lol. Man, I like cops and all, but they did him dirty and they needed to be criticized for it. It was a BS raid with no justification.
Re: (Score:2)
I believe most cops originally go into the profession because of a sincere desire to help people. But after dealing with people at their worst for several years, they get jaded, and start viewing everybody as a criminal. It's not a profession I'd go into, because the Alaska State Trooper I grew up running away from in my small town transferred to the California Highway Patrol... and was murdered during a routine traffic stop within a few weeks. There should be some penalty for lying to get warrants, other t
Re: (Score:2)
> and then he got high!
Damn you! (truly, I blame myself) I should've seen that coming, but didn't.
Damn you.
nice typo (Score:3)
in the summary :
...seven Ohio police offers...
New For Nerds? (Score:2)
Funny personality? Sure.
Happy for him? Sure.
Puttin' it to the man? Sure.
News for nerds? Really?
Re: New For Nerds? (Score:2)
Some nerds care about freedom.
We will note that you are not among them.
Re: (Score:2)
Turn in your nerd card.
First up, YRO. This guy used home-NVR footage as the basis for three music videos. Which he posted online. As protest against police abuse. That's interesting to (some) nerds in several ways.
Second, there's a header for Entertainment which this could also have been filed under.
It's never been cool to be deliberately overly reductive about the mission statement and purpose of Slashdot but it's even worse when you're wrong.
Only in rural Ohio (Score:3)
The whole saga is just wild. Spent only a little time watching but from what I could gather it had everything I would expect out of a rural Ohio LEO run-in with a rapper:
Missing money without investigation
Videos from "the informant" that lead to the wild goose chase kidnapping raid then accusing the officers of drug fueled sexual encounters after conviction for other crimes
A convicted pedophile officer whose sibling can't identify what they were convicted of under oath
Hiring adult film workers to parody a straight and cisgendered officer as lesbian and transgender in very graphic poses
Selling Hunchback of Notre Dame style merch of an officer who is ignorant of the character
Divorce / infidelity sagas
Unhinged incompetent depositions / testimonies that completely undermine the case.
And Mama's lemon pound cake.
Re: (Score:2)
Don’t forget the outfit Afroman wore in court.
Re: (Score:2)
How could I forget the flag suit also used to march to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic complete with sexual thrusts, sex tape clips, and AI generated clips of officers with rat tails...
Re: (Score:1)
Unless 'The police must break the law' is also a law, why don't we all stop calling them LEOs?
\o/ (Score:1)
> In March 2023, seven officers filed a lawsuit against Afroman for invasion of privacy and the unauthorized use of their images from the security footage...
Police keeping the bar low: "invasion of privacy" when videoing them breaking into his house lol.
They're practically recruiting people to the side opposite that occupied by the police (not really the good guys are they?)
Perhaps Afroman could offer a service to the community where he has your house wired with a surveillance system of the quality needed to
So good (Score:3)
You can't make this stuff up. LOL at the wife thing!!!
Re:So good (Score:4, Interesting)
Here's what I find hilarious: after he accused them of stealing $400 cash from his house, they said "Sorry, we miscounted", and GAVE HIM HIS $400 BACK! So effectively, they admitted to theft. Can't that be used as evidence against them int court?
Re:So good (Score:5, Informative)
It should be, but remember that the Supreme Court gave police officers (essentially) full immunity from prosecution for anything they do on the job.
Thanks Roberts court (the most corrupt in all modern history)!
Re: (Score:3)
> It should be, but remember that the Supreme Court gave police officers (essentially) full immunity from prosecution for anything they do on the job.
> Thanks Roberts court (the most corrupt in all modern history)!
Abolish qualified immunity!
Re: (Score:1)
Trying to find the source again, but apparently some of the video includes them destroying video cameras, in an obvious attempt to cover up their actions. They just missed some.
That should also be a crime.
Re: (Score:3)
His wife was recording them with her phone too. Note to self: learn how to hide cameras from cops. They make cheap fake cameras now, the fun thing to do would be to have a bunch of those for the cops to destroy, then they would go about their dirty business not realizing the real cameras are still recording them.
My favorite thing about that (Score:2)
Was that the police officer couldn't say that everyone knows afroman isn't having sex with his wife because that would instantly invalidate the claims he was making so he had to just sit there on the stand and say that he didn't know whether Afro man was having sex with his wife or not.
We'll work on his face was one of the best things to ever happen.
Re: (Score:2)
> We'll work on his face was one of the best things to ever happen.
English, motherfucker. Do. You. Speak. It?