The family of George Floyd plans to file a $250 million lawsuit against Ye - NPR

Ye (C), formerly known arsenic Kanye West, attends the Givenchy Spring-Summer 2023 manner amusement during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, successful Paris, connected Oct. 2, 2022. Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

Ye (C), formerly known arsenic Kanye West, attends the Givenchy Spring-Summer 2023 manner amusement during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, successful Paris, connected Oct. 2, 2022.

Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

The household of George Floyd announced Tuesday that they volition record a $250 cardinal suit against Ye, the rapper formerly known arsenic Kanye West, pursuing comments helium made astir Floyd's decease connected the podcast Drink Champs.

Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that George Floyd's decease was a homicide, caused by Derek Chauvin kneeling connected Floyd's cervix for implicit 8 minutes. But Ye — who was a impermanent connected past weekend's occurrence of the podcast hosted by rapper N.O.R.E and DJ EFN — enactment distant the thought that it wasn't Chauvin who caused Floyd's death, but that helium died from fentanyl use.

The household seeks damages for defamation, harassment and more

The suit volition beryllium filed by Roxie Washington, the parent of Gianna Floyd: George Floyd's lone girl and the sole beneficiary of his estate. Washington plans to writer Ye, his concern partners and associates for "harassment, misappropriation, defamation and infliction of affectional distress seeking $250 cardinal dollars successful damages," according to a statement from Washington's attorneys.

"Kanye's comments are a repugnant effort to discount George Floyd's beingness and to nett from his inhumane death," said Attorney Pat D. Dixon III. "We volition clasp Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd's legacy."

Attorneys for the household person besides issued a cease-and-desist missive to Ye for his comments.

"Free Speech Rights bash not see harassment, lies, misrepresentation, and the misappropriation of George Floyd's legacy. Some words person consequences and Mr. West volition beryllium made to recognize that," said Kay Harper Williams, different of Washington's attorneys.

Ye's First Amendment rights volition beryllium a origin successful this case, adept says

On the substance of First Amendment rights, however, the household whitethorn person an uphill ineligible conflict against Ye, said Roy S. Gutterman, the manager of the Tully Center for Free Speech astatine the University of Syracuse.

"First off, determination is nary anticipation of a defamation enactment here, due to the fact that determination would beryllium nary surviving plaintiff whose estimation has been damaged," Gutterman told NPR. "Libel and slander necessitate a unrecorded plaintiff, and household members oregon surviving household members bash not person lasting to writer for defamation."

One imaginable way for this lawsuit, though, would beryllium the the allegation of intentional infliction of affectional distress, Gutterman said — though it volition beryllium hard to claim. "This requires the plaintiff to beryllium that the statements were intentional oregon reckless, extracurricular the bounds of accepted decency and morality and causally-connected to immoderate viable harm," helium said. "This tort is often a hard assertion to cod on, particularly with a media defendant."

However, proving this assertion is not impossible; notably, Sandy Hook families successfully sued Alex Jones connected this secondary tort successful a caller civilian proceedings successful Connecticut.

Drink Champs has issued apologies for the episode

Ye's occurrence of Drink Champs was pulled earlier this week.

"Drink Champs prides itself connected its quality to let a escaped travel of ideas wrong the hep hop community," a typical for the programme told The Hollywood Reporter." That being said, unfortunately, the caller interrogation with Kanye West contained mendacious and hurtful accusation regarding the circumstances surrounding the execution of George Floyd."

Host N.O.R.E called into Hot 97's Ebro successful the Morning to speech astir the occurrence and issued an apology.

"I'm sorry," helium said. "I tin beryllium determination and say, 'That's lone Kanye West, it's lone what helium said.' But I person a work erstwhile I person an audience. When I watched myself, I was embarrassed. I was like, 'Wait a minute? You conscionable fto him accidental that?' I'm irresponsible for letting it go."

Representatives for Kanye West did not instantly instrumentality messages for comment.