Afroman has scored a legal victory after a group of Ohio deputies sued him over his use of their images in his music videos.
On Wednesday, the rapper who’s best known for his 2000 hit “Because I Got High,” came out a winner in a defamation lawsuit from Ohio deputies, who alleged that they were harmed by his music videos. Afroman argued that he was exercising his free speech when he used images of the deputies in some of his music videos, including “Lemon Pound Cake.”
Turns out, the jury sided with the rapper. As NBC News reported, the jury took less than a day to find Afroman “not liable on any of 13 claims made against him by several deputies.”
“In all circumstances, the jury finds in favor of the defendant,” Judge Jonathan Hein announced via NBC News. “No plaintiff verdict prevailed. So, the matter will be concluded with defense verdicts.”
Afroman celebrated his victory with an Instagram post. In the clip, he’s heard shouting, “We did it America! Yah, we did it, freedom of speech! Right on!”
He captioned the post with, “WE DID IT AMERICA 
GOD BLESS AMERICA LAND THAT I LOVE !!! FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Afroman obtained footage of Ohio’s Adams County deputies when they raided his home in 2022
Per NBC News, the officers raided the rapper’s in a search for drugs with a warrant. However, no drugs were found and Afroman didn’t face any charges.
Afroman then released a music video, which mocks an officer, who busted down his door during the raid. With his song, “Lemon Pound Cake,” Afroman suggests that the officer specially took interest in a lemon cake that was visible in his kitchen. The video has gained nearly four million views on YouTube.
Afroman asserted his First Amendment rights during his trial
“I got freedom of speech,” Afroman told the jurors while rocking a suit decked with an American flag pattern, according to NBC News. “After they run around my house with guns, kicked down my door, I got the right to kick a can in my backyard, use my freedom of speech, turn my bad times into a good time.”
He added, “I don’t go to their house, kick down their doors, flip them off on their surveillance cameras, then try to play the victim and sue them.”
When he was asked if he has any regrets about featuring the deputies in his music videos, Afroman stood firm, saying, “Is there anything that can change my mind about the fact that they shouldn’t have been at my house in the first place? Is there anything that can change my mind about how my money shouldn’t have been touched in the first place? No.”
In a 2023 interview, Afroman said the deputies went as far as to disconnect his surveillance footage and even stole money.
“They started investigating themselves, and they say it was simply a miscount,” the rapper said in that interview, according to ABC 7 Chicago via Distractify. “How do you miscount $400?”
The post Did Afroman Wins His Court Case? More On The Lawsuit Against Police Over ‘Lemon Pound Cake’ And More appeared first on Blavity.
