Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's daughter, is planning to sue Kanye West for $250 million in damages regarding the rapper's recent appearance on Drink Champs, where he blamed Floyd's death on fentanyl. Police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of Floyd in 2021 and has since been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Washington's lawsuit accuses West of 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 for defamation regarding a dead person, Washington's legal team claims that the comments have had the same damaging effect on Floyd's family and more specifically, his daughter.
“The interests of the child are priority,” said Nuru Witherspoon of the Witherspoon Law Group, according to Rolling Stone. “George Floyd’s daughter is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
Attorney Pat D. Dixon, III, of Dixon & Dixon, added: “Kanye’s comments are repugnant to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death. We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy.”
Another civil rights attorney, Lee Merritt, explained to Rolling Stone that the recent $1 billion judgment against Alex Jones that was brought by the parents of Sandy Hook could lay the legal roadmap for how the Floyd family will proceed.
[Via]