The mother of George Floyd’s daughter plans to file a $250 million defamation lawsuit against Kanye West after the artist suggested that Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose, lawyers announced on Tuesday.
Roxie Washington plans to sue West on behalf of her and Floyd’s minor daughter Gianna Floyd, accusing him of making the comments “to promote his brands, and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners and associates,” the Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law, who will be representing the family, said in a statement.
The 45-year-old, who goes by Ye, made the comments during an hour-long interview Sunday on the “Drink Champs” podcast.
“They hit him with the fentanyl,” West said during the podcast. “If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 in an arrest by Minnesota police in which officer Derek Chauvin could be seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck. The arrest was caught on video, and Chauvin was fired and later convicted of murder.
The lawyers sent West a cease and desist letter Tuesday saying he has “maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Floyd’s estate and family,” the letter reads.
The letter demanded that the interview be taken down from the internet and required that West make no further statements about Floyd’s death.
“We will take all appropriate and necessary legal action if you, your attorneys, employees, agents, partners, associates, and representatives fail to comply with this demand,” the letter reads.
The release says that, while the full interview has been pulled down, West’s comments and clips of the moment are still being circulated and viewed across the globe.
“George Floyd’s daughter is being re-traumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her,” Nuru Witherspoon said in the statement.
Chauvin also claimed that drugs found in Floyd’s system were responsible for his death during his trial.
However, medical examiners contested that claim, determining that a lack of oxygen and compression of Floyd’s neck were the cause of death.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of depriving Floyd of his right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.
His plea agreement in the case included a statement saying: “As Mr. Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, the defendant kept his knees on Floyd’s neck and body, even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive. This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of George Floyd.”
Source: ResistTheMainStream