Sometime between going on numerous anti-Jew rants and buying the conservative social media site Parler, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, now known as Ye, found himself making false statements about the murder of George Floyd. Floyd was murdered by convicted murderer Derek Chauvin while in police custody, spurring worldwide protests against police brutality, abuse, and killings. However, Ye, who appeared on Drink Champs to make several controversial and bigoted statements, claims that wasn’t the case, and it could cost him.
Per Rolling Stone, lawyers for Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s daughter, announced plans to sue West for $250 million, seeking damages for the rapper’s claims, “accusing West, his business partners, and associates of harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.”
“In his recent appearance on the popular podcast Drink Champs, Kanye West knowingly made blatantly false statements about George Floyd’s death to promote his brands and increase market value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates,” the press release from Washington’s lawyers state. “During the podcast interview, Kanye West stated malicious falsehoods about George Floyd to profit from Mr. Floyd’s horrendous death and his family’s trauma.”
“Kanye’s comments are a repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life & to profit from his inhumane death,” said Attorney Pat D. Dixon. “We will hold Mr. West accountable for his flagrant remarks against Mr. Floyd’s legacy.”
West repeated the false claim on Drink Champs that Floyd died of fentanyl. “I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out,” West said. “If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that.” This was not the case. Chauvin killed Floyd by depriving him of oxygen and causing brain injury and cardiac arrest.
Previously, West made a $2 million donation to support the families of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Beonna Taylor. He also established a plan to pay for Floyd’s child’s college tuition. Today, lawyers representing the child’s mother say, “George Floyd’s daughter is being retraumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.”
West’s controversial appearance on Drink Champs has been pulled from numerous platforms, but not before one of the show’s hosts, N.O.R.E., apologized.
“I support freedom of speech, I support anybody not being censored, but I do not support anybody being hurt,“ N.O.R.E. said on The Breakfast Club. “I did not realize that the George Floyd statements on my show were so hurtful. And you gotta realize, it was the first five minutes of the show, when he walked in, he told my producer, if they stop filming, he’ll walk out.”
“But later on, I actually checked him about the George Floyd comments, I actually checked him about the ‘White Lives Matter’ [t-shirt], but it was so later in the episode, I was already inebriated at that time, that maybe people looked over it. But I apologize to the George Floyd family, I apologize to anybody that was hurt by Kanye West’s comments.”
However, that’s about as far as the host went. “Other than the George Floyd comment, I thought I conducted a great interview,” he said of an interview where his guest accused “Jewish Zionists” of running a media conspiracy to own the “Black voice.” He also accused Jews of “fucking” with him and putting a “crazy narrative out there.”
“Paparazzi taking a photo of you, you ain’t getting no money off of it. You’re used to getting screwed by the Jewish media,” West said in the interview described by N.O.R.E. as “great.”