Singer and rapper Afroman is being sued by several members of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio after he made music videos using footage from a raid on his home last year.
Seven members of the Ohio sheriff’s office filed suit against Joseph Foreman, better known as Afroman, earlier this month for using their likeness in the videos and social media posts without their consent and causing them “embarrassment, ridicule, emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation,” according to court documents.
The dispute began last August, when the Adams County Sheriff’s Office conducted an armed raid of Foreman’s home on suspicion of drug trafficking and kidnapping, according to a local Fox affiliate. However, the raid reportedly failed to turn up any probative criminal evidence.
Foreman created two music videos — “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” — using surveillance footage and videos taken by his wife of the raid. He also posted images and videos of the officers on various social media platforms.
The lawsuit argues that the officers’ personas were used “for commercial purposes, to promote his ‘Afroman’ brand, to sell products, to promote his music tours, and to make money from the use of Plaintiffs’ images on videos and other media” and claims the officers are entitled to the profits that Foreman made off their likeness.
In one Instagram post cited by the lawsuit, Foreman thanked the officer featured in his “Lemon Pound Cake” music video for “getting me 5.4 MILLION hits on TikTok,” adding, “I couldn’t have done it without you obviously!”
However, Foreman vowed in an Instagram post on Wednesday to countersue “for the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this had on my clients family, career and property.”