Afroman, the rapper best known for his 2000 hit “Because I Got High,” will go to trial next week in an unusual lawsuit filed by police officers who raided his Ohio home — a case that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called “nothing short of absurd.”
The case against the rapper (Joseph Forman) was filed by seven members of an Ohio county sheriff’s department, who claim he caused them “emotional distress” by using footage of the guns-drawn 2022 raid — which ultimately yielded no charges — in critical social media posts and a music video.
The lawsuit has rankled free speech advocates like the ACLU, which has called the case an attack on the First Amendment and “a meritless effort to use a lawsuit to silence criticism.” The rapper himself has echoed that argument, saying he should “be allowed to speak out about my life.” An attorney for the officers did not return a request for comment.
Afroman rose to fame in the early 2000s with comedy rap tracks like “Because I Got High,” a tune popularized on The Howard Stern Show and the early internet that reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 10 weeks on the chart. The song was later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2002.
In August 2022, police from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department raided Afroman’s home with guns drawn, smashing down his door and seizing $5,031 in cash and other property. The raid came on a search warrant linked to suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping, but no wrongdoing was uncovered, no charges were ever filed and the money was later returned.
After the search, Afroman repeatedly posted video and images of the officers to social media, using them to express outrage at alleged damage done to his property and at what he viewed as excessive use of force. The footage was featured prominently in a music video for a 2022 song called “Lemon Pound Cake,” in which he humorously described the raid and mocked the officers: “He’s a Adams County Sheriff/ He’s hungry and he’s big as hell.”
Related
It turns out the officers weren’t laughing. In 2023, seven of them filed a civil lawsuit against him, claiming Afroman’s use of the footage was an unauthorized commercial exploitation of their likeness, as well as an invasion of their privacy.
In their complaint, the officers (Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland, Lisa Phillips and Randolph L. Walters, Jr.) claimed they’d been “subjected to threats, including death threats” because of Afroman’s posts. They later added accusations that he defamed them by saying they stole money or threatened to kill him.
The artist and his lawyers quickly argued that such a case was an abuse of the court system, filed by government officials whom he had a constitutional right to criticize for alleged misconduct, especially when it was committed in his own home.
“The plaintiffs in this case seek to tamp down and stifle the defendants’ First Amendment rights and are using the judicial system to quell protected speech that they do not agree with,” his lawyers wrote at the time.
Related
In October 2023, a judge dismissed some of the case, ruling that public servants “have to expect that they may from time to time be subject to commentary and criticism regarding their performance of their duties.” But he allowed the defamation claim and some invasion of privacy claims to move ahead to trial.
Afroman also countersued the officers, accusing them of destruction of property, trespassing, illegal search and seizure and other forms of wrongdoing. But the judge dismissed that case last month, paving the way for a trial next week focused solely on the rapper’s alleged misconduct.
The case against Afroman has drawn criticism not just from the rapper himself. In a 2023 court filing, attorneys for the ACLU sharply attacked the case, calling the officers’ accusations of invasion of privacy — made over their own invasion of another person’s home — “nothing short of absurd.”
“Plaintiffs are a group of law enforcement officers who executed what appears to have been a highly destructive and ultimately fruitless search of a popular musician’s home. Now they find themselves at the receiving end of his mockery and outrage,” the ACLU wrote at the time. “There is nothing the First Amendment protects more jealously than criticism of public officials on a matter of public concern.”
Related
Afroman’s attorney and a rep for the ACLU did not return requests for comment.
The trial will get underway Monday morning (March 16) before Judge Jonathan Hein at the Adams County Court of Common Pleas. Witness lists show that Afroman and the deputies themselves will be on the witness stand, and that jurors will see bodycam footage, the search warrant and the disputed videos.
When the trial does start, expect the officers’ lawyers to echo earlier filings in which they say Afroman’s criticism has “made it more difficult and even more dangerous for plaintiffs to carry out their official duties.” And look for his lawyers to reprise their claim that the case is an assault on his constitutional rights: “This is a case about a performer and artist acting under their First Amendment freedom of expression,” they said.
