George Floyd’s Family Announces $250 Million Lawsuit Against Kanye West
Kanye West’s words could cost him big time.
In the wake of his controversial “Drink Champs” interview, the family of George Floyd has announced plans to sue West for $250 million.
Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter Gianna, said Tuesday that she has hired a legal team to go after Ye, his business partners, and his associates for harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.
The family’s attorneys have also sent a cease and desist letter to Kanye following the interview where he falsely claimed that Floyd died of fentanyl consumption rather than being suffocated by a police officer’s knee.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out. One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes,” West told “Drink Champs.” “They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
Kanye West says George Floyd passed away because of fentanyl and that the cop’s knee “wasn’t even on his neck like that” pic.twitter.com/sVKy3VK35O
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) October 16, 2022
The Floyd family has called Kanye’s allegations “blatantly false” and “malicious,” and say that Gianna is being “retraumatized” by his comments, which they say are “creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
“Mr. Floyd’s cause of death is well-settled through evidence presented in courts of law during the criminal and civil trials that were the result of his untimely and horrific death,” reads the cease and desist letter, obtained by TMZ. “Nevertheless, you have maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Mr. Floyd’s estate and his family.”
In the cease and desist, the family’s lawyers demand that Kanye and his associates remove the interview from the internet and refrain from publishing any other material. The interview had millions of views before it was pulled from YouTube.
“Drink Champs” host N.O.R.E. has since apologized amid the backlash from the interview, where West also made anti-Semitic remarks. “I sincerely apologize to anybody that was hurt by Kanye’s words, by Kanye’s actions because I didn’t really realize it,” he told Hot 97. “I’m here to say that I apologize to anybody who feels that I let them down ’cause I feel like I did let them down to a certain extent.”
