George Floyd’s family sues Kanye West for $250M after rapper disputes cause of death
Kanye West has denied claims that his anti-government rhetoric and his violent behaviour towards police led to the death of Floyd’s friend Freddie Gray, and says he will “take a lie detector test”.
The rapper has apologised for the “tragic” incident, but does not acknowledge that Gray died as a result of a beating, and instead says Floyd’s family is responsible for his actions.
The family of Floyd have filed a civil complaint with the US civil court against West and the rapper’s label, claiming wrongful death. West took to Twitter to respond to the statement, calling it “dumb” and claiming that Floyd’s family is “lying” and that the rapper did nothing wrong. West says Floyd was a “lightening rod for violence”.
West’s response was posted in full on the rapper’s website’s main page. On his homepage, West says: “The only reason that I was even thinking of using the term ‘tragic’ would be if it had not been for the fact that it became a catalyst for the movement that would eventually force the hand of our government to act.”
I don’t know what to say. I wish there was some way to say “I’m sorry for your loss.” I’m sorry for how it looks. [I] was not thinking when I called him a piece of s–t. Not when he was a child. He was 11-years-old. There’s a reason why he’s a name-drop in rap songs. I just didn’t see why people were using that word. – YNW
The lawsuit also cites West’s tweets in which he told police in 2013: “Let them f—— try to take away my humanity. They will never take it away from me!”
He also posted a tweet on Monday reading: “I don’t know what to say. I wish there was some way to say ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ [I’m] sorry