Afroman is facing a lawsuit from seven law enforcement officers over him using footage from a police raid of his home in one of his music videos.
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The officers have alleged that the rapper – whose real name is Joseph Foreman – took recordings of their faces that were obtained from a raid which took place in Ohio in August 2022 and used them in music videos and social media posts without their consent.
Four deputies, two sergeants and a detective have claimed that this has caused them ‘emotional distress, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of reputation and humiliation.’ All seven of them are seeking all of Foreman’s profits from his use of their images, including revenue from songs, music videos and concert tickets, on top of the promotion of his Afroman brand and merch proceeds. They are also demanding a court injunction to take down all videos and posts using their faces.
The lawsuit names Foreman directly, as well as his recording brand and a Texas-based media distribution company as defendants.
However, Foreman revealed in an Instagram post on Wednesday (March 22) that he intends to countersue for ‘the unlawful raid’ and ‘money being stolen’, as well as the damage caused to his family, career, and property.
He also explained why he publicised the camera recording in the first place, writing: “My video footage is my property. I used it to identify the criminals who broke into my house, and stole my money.”
“I used it to identify criminals, who broke into my house, stole my money and disconnected my home security system.
“I use my footage of my property to raise money to pay for the damages they done and to identify the criminals operating inside of the sheriff department that stole my money, [ransacked] my house and disconnected my video cameras.”
Foreman has posted numerous times on Instagram since calling out the officers for their actions, describing them as “crooked cops” who he alleges “[invaded] an innocent man’s home”.
NME has contacted the lawyer representing the officers for comment.
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