Afroman Wins Jury Trial In Which Ohio Police Officers Accused Him Of Defamation

Jurors sided with rapper Afroman in a lawsuit in which several Ohio deputies accused him of defamation and sought $3.9 million in damages, according to multiple reports.

Their lawsuit came after Afroman, whose legal name is Joseph Foreman, turned the Adams County sheriff’s deputies’ 2022 raid on his home into musical content, including his songs and corresponding music videos for “Lemon Pound Cake,” “Will You Help Me Repair My Door,” and the incredibly misogynistic “Licc’em Low Lisa” (named after one of the officers).

The warrant for the raid cited suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping. However, the raid, during which the authorities had their guns drawn and seized more than $5,000 and other property from Foreman, did not ultimately result in charges against the rapper.

“I got freedom of speech. After they run around my house with guns and kick down my door, I got the right to kick a can in my back yard, use my freedom of speech, and turn my bad times into a good time, yes I do,” Foreman, a former presidential candidate, told the court Tuesday, Billboard reported. “And I think I’m a sport for doing so, because I don’t go to their house, kick down their doors [and] then try to play the victim and sue them.”

The officers, Lisa Phillips, Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland and Randolph L. Walters, Jr., claim they have dealt with “threats, including death threats” and “emotional distress” as a result of Foreman’s music and videos, Billboard added.

In a 2023 amicus brief, the American Civil Liberties Union said the lawsuit was “nothing short of absurd.”

“This case is a classic entry into the SLAPP suit genre: a meritless effort to use a lawsuit to silence criticism. And not just any criticism, but criticism specifically of government actors,” the brief also stated. “Plaintiffs do not identify the substance of any particular statement in the videos-or for that matter, anywhere else-that they claim is false. Instead, the central focus of their complaint is that Mr. Foreman is making money off of his video commentary and related merchandise, and is criticizing Plaintiffs harshly in the process. That is not tortious conduct; it is protected speech.”

The legal battle has not deterred the Los Angeles-born “Because I Got High” rapper. He released “BATTERAM HYMN OF THE POLICE WHISTLE BLOWER” on Sunday, in which he continued to rap about and poke fun at the raid.