By George Floyd’s family is considering suing Kanye West after the rapper claimed he died of fentanyl overdose instead of police brutality.
Speaking with Drink Champs hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, West claimed Floyd died as a result of having taken fentanyl.
“I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out. One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes,” West told Drink Champs. “They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.”
A jury last year convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of second- and third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, and he later pleaded guilty to federal charges of using excessive force under color of law.
Floyd’s family lawyer, civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, confirmed that they are considering a defamation lawsuit against him. He wrote, “Members of the Floyd family contacted me distraught over the reprehensible remarks.”
While one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death.
Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.
— Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) October 16, 2022
“While one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye’s false statements about the manner of his death. Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl, not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family’s fight.”
‘Drink Champs’ podcast have taken down their latest episode featuring West after receiving backlash for the comments made in the interview.
A representative for the podcast said, “Drink Champs prides itself on its ability to allow a free flow of ideas within the hip hop community. That being said, unfortunately, the recent interview with Kanye West contained false and hurtful information regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Integrity is very important and we don’t want to promote false narratives on our platform. Our goal is to celebrate the culture,” the rep for Drink Champs said in a statement. “Therefore, we had no choice but to remove the episode from distribution. We apologize to the family of Mr. Floyd and anyone else hurt by this episode.”
Image: Variety
