George Floyd’s family is suing Kanye West for $250 million after the rapper claimed his death was the result of drug abuse, not from being murdered by a police officer.
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, made the comments over the weekend on the podcast Drink Champs, claiming Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose. In the same interview, which has since been removed from YouTube, he made several anti-Semitic comments.
However, Floyd’s clinical cause of death was determined by Hennepin county chief medical examiner Dr Andrew Baker as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement’s subdual, restraint and neck compression” — Floyd’s heart and lungs stopping and preventing him from breathing.
His death in May 2020 was the result of white police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee against his neck during an arrest outside a grocery store. Floyd, a black man, was unarmed and the incident caused worldwide outrage.
Last year, Chauvin was found guilty of three murder and manslaughter charges and was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison. Three other officers involved in the incident received lighter sentences.
Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s young daughter, filed a lawsuit against West via Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon and Dixon Attorneys at Law on Tuesday, on the grounds of harassment, misappropriation, defamation and infliction of emotional distress on their daughter.
"Kanye's comments are a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd's life and to profit from his inhumane death," said attorney Pat D Dixon III. "We will hold Mr West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr Floyd's legacy."
Protests following the death of George Floyd — in pictures
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Tom Bernard, cleans the front of his damaged shop on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after protests for George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Terrence Floyd, centre, attends a vigil where his brother George Floyd was killed by police one week ago, on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Getty -
Protesters call for justice for George Floyd during his brother Terrence's visit, outside the Cup Foods on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
A protester kneels during a call for justice for George Floyd during his brother Terrence's visit, outside the Cup Foods on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Terrence Floyd, wearing white T-shirt, kneels at a makeshift memorial for his brother, George Floyd, near the intersection of 38th and Chicago in front of the Cup Foods at the spot where he was arrested and died in police custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. EPA -
A person carries a banner during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in front of a US consulate, in Barcelona, Spain June 1, 2020. Reuters -
Terrence Floyd, centre, at the spot in the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, where his brother George Floyd died while in police custody, Monday June 1, 2020. AP -
Protesters march with three placards stating "Black Lives Matter" in the aftermath of widespread unrest following the death of George Floyd on June 1, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Getty -
A woman sweeping outside looted stores wears a protective mask that reads: "Black Lives are greater than property" during nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Santa Monica, California, US, June 1, 2020. Reuters -
Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, reacts at a makeshift memorial honouring George Floyd, at the spot where he was taken into custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 1, 2020. Reuters
