Afroman is no stranger to his legal escapades making headlines. But the “Because I Got High” singer is back in the news this week for a different kind of courtroom drama.
The rapper on Wednesday won a defamation trial after several deputies sued him for music videos he made using real footage from the sheriff’s department’s botched raid at his Ohio home in 2022. The jury found that the hitmaker did not defame the seven deputies from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department or invade their privacy when he dropped a series of music videos post-raid.
“We did it America,” a red, white, and blue-clad Afroman exclaimed after the verdict dropped. “We did it, freedom of speech.”
The deputies sued Afroman — whose real name is Joseph Foreman — in 2023, claiming the singer used their likeness without permission. The deputies claim the video for “Lemon Pound Cake” caused humiliation and distress to the deputies, plus prompted death threats, per a report from Local 12 News in Cincinnati.
Per Local 12, the deputies involved in the lawsuit wanted big-time money for the alleged emotional damages. Their attorney, Robert Kiplinger, asked the jury for specific amounts for each of the deputies for “all the suffering the seven plaintiffs endured,” according to the news outlet. The highest amount requested was for Lisa Phillips at $1.5 million. Brian Newland and Randy Walters each asked for $1 million.
Kiplinger also asked jurors to award $400,000 to be divided among Shawn Grooms, Shawn Cooley, Justin Cooley, and Mike Estep.
“In all circumstances, the jury finds in favor of the defendant,” the judge said Wednesday evening.
When Afroman took the stand Tuesday, he said any pushback from the video is the deputies’ fault.
“If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system and there would be no songs,” Afroman said.
The video for “Lemon Pound Cake” was played in court Wednesday where the jury could listen along to the song’s lyrics, including: “The Adams County Sheriff kicked down my door. Then I heard the glass break. They found no kidnapping victims. Just some lemon pound cake.”
The officer depicted in the song, looking at an apparent lemon pound cake in Afroman’s home, is Deputy Shawn Cooley, who has since retired from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. Cooley told the jury the attention caused by the video led to threats against his life, his wife, and his children. Cooley said it was difficult for his family to go to public places like Walmart after the song that has more than 3 million views and counting on YouTube was released.
The 51-year-old rapper was not charged following the raid, which left him with significant damage to his home and plenty of footage for music videos. Afroman claims the raid stemmed from allegations of drug trafficking and kidnapping.
