George Floyd’s Family Suing Kanye West
Mr. West has been the face of so many controversies lately, with many being downright offensive and impossible to defend. One of his latest includes claiming that George Floyd’s cause of death was an overdose, and not his airways being constricted by a police officer’s knee directly on his throat.
On May 25 of 2020, George Floyd laid on the ground, gasping for air as the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin was on top of him, restricting his airflow for nine minutes. A medical examiner said that his lungs and heart stopped because of “subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” Floyd’s heart issues and drug use were noted, but were not to blame for his death.
Kanye West says that he believes differently, though, and he’s been in a whirlwind of gossip for the problematic statements he’s been making. The family of George Floyd has sent Kanye West a cease and desist letter, which demands that Kanye removes any of his false and damaging statements about George Floyd and refrain from speaking about him again.
An excerpt from the letter reads, “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. Nevertheless, you have maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Mr. Floyd’s estate and his family.”
Floyd’s family plans to sue Kanye for $250 million for “harassment, misappropriation, defamation and infliction of emotional distress.” A statement from the lawyers of Floyd’s family says that “the interests of the child are priority. George Floyd’s daughter is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he is creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
West made these hurtful statements on an episode of the podcast ‘Drink Champs,’ which raked in over a million views but was deleted just a day later, for obvious reasons. The host of the podcast has publicly apologized, saying, “I support anybody not being censored. But I do not support anybody being hurt.”
He further explained, “I don’t watch my own interviews because I know I’m great. But when I watched this one, I cringed. And I felt terrible. So I have to say that I am sorry to anybody who was hurt by his rhetoric, anybody who was hurt by his speech. I want to apologize to the George Floyd family, I want to apologize to anyone who was hurt by someone saying something on my platform.”
At least someone’s taking accountability. Kanye has been quiet about the topic, as he so often is when he’s done something wrong. Floyd’s family is set on pursuing legal action, and the least Kanye can do is pay them what they ask.
