Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman has successfully defended himself against a defamation lawsuit brought by seven Ohio sheriff’s deputies. The officers had sued him over music videos that utilised home security footage to satirise their raid on his property.
Following the Wednesday evening verdict, the 51-year-old rapper, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, was jubilant outside the courthouse. “We did it, America! Yeah, we did it! Freedom of speech! Right on! Right on!” he exclaimed, later sharing the clip on social media.
The case delved into the boundaries of parody and the creative licence artists can exercise in social commentary directed at public figures. The deputies had collectively sought nearly $4 million in damages. Defence lawyer David Osborne, representing the artist known for his 2000 hit “Because I Got High,” argued in closing, “No reasonable person would expect a police officer not to be criticized. They’ve been called names before.”
The Adams County deputies claimed they faced public harassment due to the viral videos, which garnered over three million views on YouTube. The footage depicted rifle-wielding officers breaking down Afroman’s door, searching his shoes and suit pockets, and notably, eyeing a cake on his kitchen table – an image that inspired one of his songs, “Lemon Pound Cake.” In other videos, Afroman targeted the deputies’ personal lives and labelled them “crooked cops” following the alleged disappearance of $400 during the raid.
“Police officers shouldn’t be stealing civilians’ money,” the rapper testified this week. “This whole thing is an outrage.”
In court — wearing a red, white and blue American flag suit — he defended his work on First Amendment grounds and said he issued the diss tracks to cover damages from the raid, including a broken gate and front door.
No charges were filed over the 2022 raid, which the warrant said was part of a drug and kidnapping investigation. In his testimony, he said he had the right to tell his friends and fans what police had done. He said the raid traumatized his children, then 10 and 12.
“The whole raid was a mistake. All of this is their fault. If they hadn’t have wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit. I would not know their names,” Foreman said. “They wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system, and there would be no songs, nothing.”
The lyrics of “Will You Help Me Repair My Door?” address the police directly: “Did you find what you were looking for/ Would you like a slice of lemon pound cake/ You can take as much as you want to take/ There must be a big mistake.”
The video slows down, showing an officer holding a gun next to a cake stand in Afroman’s kitchen.
Then he raps: “The warrant said, ‘Narcotics and kidnapping’/ Are you kidding? I make my money rapping,” and “You crooked cops need to stop it/ There are no kidnapping victims in my suit pockets,” as a video shows the officers searching his closet.
The deputies, in their testimony, said the songs ridiculed them. Deputy Lisa Phillips said the rapper created a “derogatory” music video that questioned her gender and sexuality.
Sgt. Randy Walters said his child had been hazed at school over Afroman’s posts and came home crying.
“Where in the world is it OK to make something up for fun that’s damaging to others when you know for sure it’s an absolute lie?” he asked.
Afroman’s lawyer, in closing arguments, said it was not unusual for artists engaged in social commentary to exaggerate. Robert Klingler, representing the deputies, said Afroman lied about “these seven brave deputy sheriffs” for the past three years.
“Even if somebody does something to you that hurts you, that you think is wrong — like a search warrant execution that you think is unfair … that doesn’t justify telling intentional lies designed to hurt people,” he argued.
Afroman lives in Winchester, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Cincinnati.
