Afroman Sued by Officers After Using House Raid Footage in Music Videos
Published: March 24, 2023
As originally published by Alex Hudson on Exclaim!
Last year, Afroman's home in Cleveland was raided by law enforcement — an incident that turned up no evidence and resulted in no charges being filed. Now, some of the officers involved are suing Afroman for using footage of the raid in his music videos.
Footage of the raid appeared in several of Afroman's music videos, including "Will You Help Me Repair My Door," "Lemon Pound Cake" and "I'm a Have a Good Time." In the song, "Will You Help Me Repair My Door," he sings, "The sheriff should be locked up in slammers / The Adams County Sheriff's Department disconnected my cameras."
Seven of the people involved — four deputies, two sergeants and a detective — are now claiming that Afroman (a.k.a. Joseph Foreman) invaded their privacy. The suit, filed earlier this month, cites "emotional distress, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of reputation and humiliation," per the Associated Press.
The officers want any videos and posts they appear in to be taken down, and are seeking all profits that Foreman made from their use, including proceeds from music, concert tickets and merch.
The police had a warrant, claiming they had probable cause to believe that drugs and drug paraphernalia would be found on the property, and that trafficking and kidnapping had also taken place. No evidence was found. The lyrics to Afroman's song "Lemon Pound Cake" addresses the claims directly, as Afroman sings, "They found no kidnapping victims / Just some lemon pound cake."
During the raid, police seized cash. When this was returned to Foreman, there were hundreds of dollars missing from the original count. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation later claimed that the money had been miscounted in the first place, while Afroman's lyrics maintain, "You're stealing my legal-worked-hard-everyday-paid-taxes money."
In an Instagram post, Afroman promised to countersue for "the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this had on my client's family, career and property." Read his full post below, and see several music videos featuring the raid.
