Niamh Shackleton
Rapper Afroman has won a lawsuit against several police officers who sued him three years ago.
In 2023, Afroman – who is best known for the 2000 song 'Because I Got High' – was sued for alleged defamation, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.
The suit came after the 51-year-old used security footage from his home taken during a 2022 police raid of his property in his music videos.
Cops had searched his home for evidence of drug possession and trafficking, and kidnapping. They failed to find any evidence and no charges were filed.
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The raid was filmed by his wife, as well as on their security footage cameras. Afroman proceeded to use this footage to make music videos for his songs, where he made corse jokes about the officers.
One video, titled 'Lemon Pound Cake', has been viewed 3.5 million times on YouTube.
Following the 2023 filing, there has now been a three day-long trial.
During the trail, Randolph L. Walters, Jr. took to the stand to discuss his defamation statement about the rapper.
In his testimony, Walters Jr. claimed that 'tremendous pain' had been caused by one of Afroman's songs because the rapper referenced having sex with his wife.
He added: "I been with that woman since middle school, I would hope she wouldn’t. But you know what, once someone puts it out there for their fun and entertainment, it’s out there, and it’s a problem."
Elsewhere, Deputy Lisa Phillips cried on the stand, CNN reports. She was the subject of Afroman's song 'Licc’em Low Lisa' and in the music video for the track Phillips was fictitiously shown having sex with multiple women.
Despite their claims, Afroman proved victorious in the suit and has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
His legal team defended the videos as comedy, saying they could not be construed as statements of fact — something which his lawyer David Osborne Jr. insisted 'everyone knows'.
Elsewhere they insisted that the rapper was simply exercising his First Amendment rights.
Afroman said of this: "After they run around my house with guns and kick 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."
Elsewhere it was noted that the footage used by Afroman was his own property, having been recorded on his security cameras.
Following his victory, Afroman shared a video to Instagram with his supporters as he shouted 'God bless America' and 'We did it, America'.