Afroman, the acclaimed hip hop artist, has emerged victorious in a $3.9 million defamation lawsuit filed by a sheriff’s office, following his satirical portrayal of its deputies in his music videos.
This legal triumph for the 51-year-old rapper, best known for his hit ‘Colt 45 & 2 Zig Zags,’ came after a jury in Ohio ruled in his favor. The decision, reached on Wednesday, concluded a three-year legal saga that began in March 2023.
The lawsuit’s origins trace back to a 2022 incident involving a fruitless raid on Afroman’s property located in Adams County, Ohio, a rural area near Cincinnati. Deputies from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office forcibly entered by breaking through his gate and front door, conducting a thorough search for drugs.
Despite their efforts, the officers found no incriminating evidence, and no charges were filed against Afroman, whose real name is Joseph Foreman.
In response to the raid and the subsequent damage to his property, Afroman expressed his frustration creatively. He produced two music videos using surveillance footage from his home, humorously depicting the hapless actions of the sheriff’s deputies, which led to the defamation lawsuit.
The rapper, outraged by the damage to his property and what he perceived to be a bogus warrant for the search, made two music videos using surveillance footage from his home to make fun of the bumbling sheriff’s deputies.
In one video for the song Will You Help Me Repair My Door, Foreman accuses the deputies of stealing his money and traumatizing his children, and of course, melodically asks ‘Will you help me repair my gate and door?’
The video also features footage of the officers searching through Foreman’s clothing and CDs, during which the rapper humorously sings the question: ‘Are there any kidnapping victims inside my suit pockets?’
Rapper Afroman was found not liable on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit that was brought against him by the Ohio Adams County Sheriff’s Office. He is pictured performing in 2018
Afroman, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, made music videos using surveillance footage from his home to mock deputies who fruitlessly raided his home. He is pictured in the music video for the hit song Colt 45 & 2 Zig Zags
One of Foreman’s music videos was titled Will You Help Me Repair My Door, in which he humorously asks if the sheriff’s office will pay to repair his property. The rapper’s front door is pictured getting busted down
The day after Foreman uploaded that video, he posted another track titled “Lemon Pound Cake,” featuring a clip from his surveillance footage showing one of the deputies casting multiple glances at a lemon pound cake in the rapper’s kitchen.
In the music video, the rapper calls the deputy ‘big as hell’ and sings: ‘Mama’s lemon pound cake, it tastes so nice, make the sheriff wanna put down his gun and take a slice.’
The videos, which combined have garnered around 14million views on YouTube, were posted in late December 2022. Three months later in March 2023, seven officers with the sheriff’s office sued Foreman.
They alleged that the music videos defamed them, invaded their constitutional privacy and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
The lawsuit also stated that Foreman posted other content on social media that named and pictured the officers involved in the raid.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supported an early move by Foreman to have the case dismissed, stating that the rapper’s music videos were protected speech.
Part of the lawsuit was dismissed in October 2023, but the court allowed the defamation claim to proceed to trial.
Another video posted by Afroman focused on a pictured clip of a deputy casting multiple glances at a lemon pound cake that was in the rapper’s kitchen
This image from a clip of one of the officers throwing his hands up during the raid, which brought no criminal charges against Afroman, was included in the rapper’s music videos
Foreman took what seems to have been an early victory lap on Sunday when he posted a yet another music video parodying The Battle Hymn of the Republic. He is pictured strutting in a suit emblazoned with American flags in the music video
An attorney for the seven deputies demanded $3.9million in damages that would be split among the plaintiffs.
The lawyer claimed that Foreman had falsely accused the deputies of stealing his money and defamed them by calling them ‘criminals disguised as law enforcement’ in social media posts.
The lawsuit also alleged that Foreman called the officers ‘white supremacists,’ said that Deputy Brian Newman ‘used to do hard drugs’ and that Deputy Lisa Phillips is ‘biologically male.’
The rapper’s lawyer argued that his client’s music videos were free speech and said that holding public office inherently runs the risk of being ‘made fun of.’
In court on Tuesday, Foreman reportedly said, ‘They’re suing me for their mistake,’ according to WCPO.
‘All of this is their fault,’ the rapper added. ‘If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system, and there would be no songs.’
In what seems to have been an early victory lap, Foreman posted yet another music video on Sunday titled BATTERAM HYMN OF THE POLICE WHISTLE BLOWER, which was a parody of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
In the video, the rapper can be seen strutting in a suit emblazoned with American flags and repeating the chorus: ‘Afroman will bring it to ya, Afroman is gonna do ya, Afroman is gonna screw ya, my proof’s on the internet.’
