George Floyd's family is considering suing Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, for making false claims about Floyd's death.
In a recent appearance on the hip-hop podcast Drink Champs, the rapper and fashion designer questioned the cause of Floyd's death, suggesting it was due to fentanyl use and not by Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and was convicted of murder.
Chauvin's knee "wasn't even on his neck like that," Ye said. The interview had been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube as of Monday afternoon.
Ye said his claims were backed by a documentary by conservative commentator Candace Owens.
His remarks drew widespread condemnation, including from civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who tweeted Sunday: "While one cannot defame the dead, the family of #GeorgeFloyd is considering suit for Kanye's false statements about the manner of his death. Claiming Floyd died from fentanyl not the brutality established criminally and civilly undermines & diminishes the Floyd family's fight."
A representative for Merritt did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Chauvin was convicted in April 2021 of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, and was sentenced in June 2021 to 22 years in prison. He pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of violating Floyd's civil rights by using excessive force under color of law and was sentenced to just more than 20 years...
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