In the wake of the Alex Jones trial that resulted in a jury awarding almost $1 billion to the surviving family members of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, the George Floyd estate is attempting to cash in by targeting another wealthy, high-profile target who they say is causing emotional harm.
A few days ago, Kanye West sparked outrage in some circles by saying Floyd died, not of asphyxiation by being under Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee, but as a result of a fentanyl overdose. Ye stated:
“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. They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
Now, George Floyd’s family is hitting back with a lawsuit worth one quarter of a million dollars. The lawsuit alleges defamation and ‘infliction of emotional distress.”
BREAKING: Family of George Floyd sues Kanye West for $250M alleging defamation and ‘infliction of emotional distress’ following the rapper’s comments about Floyd’s death – TMZ
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 18, 2022
Rolling Stone reported that, as indicated by West’s own statements, he was largely inspired to speak out publicly after watching Candace Owen’s shocking documentary about Black Lives Matter, focusing largely on untold stories from the infamous event in late May of 2020.
According to a statement, Floyd’s family issued a cease-and-desist letter to West over his comments on Drink Champs. During the appearance, the rapper falsely claimed that Floyd wasn’t murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin but that he died of fentanyl. (It’s currently unclear if those aforementioned “associates” include Candace Owens, as West plucked the debunked claim about Floyd’s death from her new Daily Wire-produced “documentary” The Greatest Lie Ever Sold).
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Rolling Stone acknowledged that there are technically no “legal grounds” to sue for defamation “on behalf of a decease person.” Nevertheless, it appears the suit will be targeting the impact West’s words had on surviving members.
The statement announcing the plans to sue accuses West of knowingly making “blatantly false statements” about Floyd’s death to “promote his brand and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates.” While there are no legal grounds to pursue a defamation claim on behalf of a deceased person, the lawyers Floyd’s family have retained for this suit appear ready to argue that West’s false statements about Floyd have had an equally detrimental effect on his family and daughter.
Meanwhile, Twitter comments were largely unsupportive of the massive suit. Some said the family had already “won the lottery” while others wondered if Kanye was even wrong. Yet another noticed the family was literally suing over hurt feelings.
It remains to be seen if a courtroom will hear these arguments and if the case has any merit. Unlike the Kyle Rittenhouse case, in which celebrities and media branded the teenage shooter as a “murderer” despite being acquitted of all charges and the word having a very specific meaning, Kanye is drawing his own conclusion on Floyd’ death based on publicly available information, including a medical examiner’s report and toxicology report. If successfully sued, it means reaching a conclusion different from that of a jury could be grounds enough to faced financial penalties from any offended party.