The mother of George Floyd’s daughter has threatened to sue Kanye West for $250 million for making allegedly false statements about Floyd’s death while being arrested by Minneapolis police in 2020.
Lawyers from two Texas law firms said they are jointly representing Roxie Washington on behalf of her minor child, who they said is the sole beneficiary of Floyd’s estate, in a “forthcoming lawsuit” against West.
Washington accuses West and his business partners and associates of “harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.”
In a joint news release, the law firms said they issued a cease-and-desist to West after he made what they said were “blatantly false” comments during an interview on the “Drinks Champs” podcast.
Floyd’s death was officially attributed, in part, to asphyxiation. Video footage of his arrest showed former officer Derek Chauvin with a knee on Floyd’s neck before his death.
West reportedly said Floyd, who had prior drug convictions, died from fentanyl use.
The law firms characterized West’s comments as part of an effort to “profit from Mr. Floyd’s horrendous death and his family’s trauma” by promoting his brands, increasing marketing values, and lifting “revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates.”
Floyd’s Death
Floyd, 46, died in Minnesota after a police officer kneeled on his neck while holding him down during an arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a Minneapolis store.
The memo also noted there was “no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation,“ and that had Floyd been ”found dead in his home (or anywhere else) and there were no other contributing factors,” the medical examiner would have concluded Floyd’s death was an overdose.
The Armed Forces medical examiner said Floyd’s death was “caused by the police subdual and restraint in the setting of severe hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and methamphetamine and fentanyl intoxication.”
‘Free Speech Rights Do Not Include Harassment’
The two Texas law firms that Washington retained to represent her daughter, The Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law, said in their statement they would make West understand that “some words have consequences.”Kay Harper Williams, a partner at The Witherspoon Law Group, said the right to free speech doesn’t “include harassment, lies, misrepresentation, and the misappropriation of George Floyd’s legacy.”
Nuru Witherspoon, a partner at The Witherspoon Law Group, said the interests of Floyd’s daughter are the priority and claimed West’s comments are forcing her to relive the trauma of her father’s death.
“George Floyd’s daughter is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her,” Witherspoon said.
Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law partner Pat D. Dixon III called West’s comments “a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death.”
“We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy,” Dixon III said.
The Witherspoon Law Group said West’s comments, which run counter to the prevailing narrative of Floyd’s death, are “damaging to the Floyd estate.”
The firm’s intellectual property litigator, Roland Witherspoon, said he will protect and enforce the rights of Floyd’s daughter “through all available legal remedies.”
The Epoch Times contacted West for comment.
