George Floyd's Family Considering SUING Kanye West For Defamation After Rapper Claims Death Was Result Of Fentanyl Overdose
Oct. 17 2022, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
Kanye West may be facing a defamation lawsuit from George Floyd’s family after the rapper claimed Floyd died as a result of a fentanyl overdose, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Kanye’s shocking claim came on Sunday when he appeared on the Drinks Champion podcast.
“They hit him with the fentanyl,” the 45-year-old Donda rapper said regarding Floyd’s May 2020 murder at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
“If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that,” Kanye added, although Chauvin has since been convicted and sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for Floyd’s murder.
Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing Floyd’s family, announced on Sunday night that the family is now considering suing Kanye for defamation stemming from his comments made during the podcast.
“While one cannot defame the dead, the family of George Floyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death,” Merritt confirmed.
He added, “Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines and diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.”
Kanye also disputed claims that Floyd called out for his mother in the moments before his death, and the rapper cited Candance Owens’ new documentary, The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM, as the basis for his controversial claims.
“They said he screamed for his mama — Mama was his girlfriend,” Ye said. “It’s in the documentary.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Chauvin ultimately pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights. In his plea agreement, Chauvin admitted to placing his knee on Floyd’s neck and depriving the 46-year-old victim of oxygen for a whopping nine minutes.
“The defendant held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, back, and shoulder, and his right knee on Mr. Floyd’s back and arm,” Chauvin’s plea agreement read.
“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,” the agreement continued. “This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of George Floyd.”
Lance Cooper, an outspoken activist, was one of the many activists to call out Kanye’s false claims on Sunday. Cooper also suggested “the Floyd family should sue Kanye just like Sandy Hook families sued Alex Jones.”
“George Floyd didn’t die because of fentanyl, that racist overdose theory was used to smear his name in court,” Cooper tweeted. “He died because Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes.”
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As RadarOnline.com reported, Kanye’s comments over the weekend came as the rapper was already under intense scrutiny for making a series of anti-Semitic comments on both social media and interviews in recent days.
"I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," Kanye wrote shortly before Twitter was forced to take down the shocking social media message.
"The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because Black people are actually Jew also," he added. "You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."
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