Afroman, given name Joseph Edgar Foreman, is being sued by seven members of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office for publishing his own security footage of a raid on his home by the department from August 2022.
While charges were never filed against Afroman, the deputies involved are suing the rapper for using his own security footage on Instagram, on T-shirts, and in music videos for a new album titled Lemon Pound Cake. They allege the rapper used their image and likeness without permission, causing the officers to suffer “humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation.”
An amended complaint from the lawyers representing the deputies may be on the way, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, as Afroman continues to market and sell the merch.
Afroman’s lawyer, meanwhile, told the paper, “He’s a free spirit. He’s gonna do what he wants to do,” in noting he hasn’t told the rapper to stop.
The ACLU on Wednesday joined the cause, filing a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case outright.
“Plaintiffs are a group of law enforcement officers who executed what appears to have been a highly destructive and ultimately fruitless search of a popular musician’s home. Now they find themselves at the receiving end of his mockery and outrage,” the ACLU wrote. “There is nothing the First Amendment protects more jealously than criticism of public officials on a matter of public concern.”
The raid, which Afroman said caused extensive damage to his home, recovered only cash, a few joints, a vape and some hemp. Officials at the time said the raid was part of an “ongoing investigation” into possession of drugs, drug paraphernalia, money and weapons associated with drug trafficking and kidnapping.
During the raid, deputies seized $5,000 in cash, which was returned later when investigators determined there would be no charges filed against the rapper. Afroman has said the deputies came up $400 short, which the department said was due to a counting error from the deputies.
“They were in Mr. Foreman’s home, not their own,” the ACLU wrote. “Nothing about Mr. Foreman’s expression involves matters of plaintiffs’ intimate personal privacy that could be protected by law. To the contrary, his description–and criticism–of their police work is a legitimate matter of public concern.”
Afroman’s title track from the album was inspired by a moment during the raid when a deputy paused, gun drawn, to look at the lemon pound cake on the rapper’s kitchen counter.
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This article appears in Apr 19 – May 3, 2023.