SAN ANTONIO — George Floyd’s family is planning to take legal action against Kanye West. A $250 million lawsuit will soon be filed in response to the rapper’s false claims about Floyd’s death.
In May of 2020, a former Minneapolis Police Officer pinned Floyd to the ground and kneeled his neck for nearly 10 minutes.
Floyd’s death sparked worldwide protests. Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021.
Now, days after what would have been Floyd’s 49th birthday, loved ones are dealing with another kind of grief.
“Mr. West’s vile and incendiary statements have been quite harmful for the Floyd family, particularly his daughter,” said attorney Kay Williams, a partner at The Witherspoon Law Group.
In a “Drink Champs” podcast released over the weekend, Kanye West, who now goes by ‘Ye,’ insinuated Floyd died from fentanyl use.
“If you look, the guy's knee wasn't even on his neck like that," Ye said in the podcast.
The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled Floyd’s death a homicide, citing "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression."
“George Floyd was murdered. Bottom line. He was murdered,” said attorney Nuru Witherspoon, who is also a partner at The Witherspoon Law Group.
On Tuesday, October 18, The Witherspoon Law Group (HYPER https://thewitherspoonlawgroup.com/) sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ye’s attorneys demanding any mention of Floyd be removed from his social media.
“To have these lies on these platforms that are on there forever - it damages his estate,” said Witherspoon. “We understand [the comments] are there to benefit Mr. West and his entities, but they need to come down because they are damaging to Mr. Floyd and, more importantly, his daughter.”
The Witherspoon Law Group is representing Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter, her mother and Floyd's estate in the lawsuit, which is set to be filed in the next month.
Witherspoon estimates George Floyd's estate has reached a $1 billion value.
KENS 5 reached out to Ye’s attorneys for comment. We are waiting to hear back.