Joseph Foreman, known professionally as Afroman, has been on trial this week after a lawsuit claimed he used deputies’ likenesses without permission after they executed a search warrant at his home in August 2022. However, Foreman’s defense said the case was about freedom of speech.
Foreman used surveillance footage from inside his home in several music videos, which have garnered hundreds of thousands of views. The sheriff’s deputies claimed those videos have damaged their reputation and made it difficult for them to effectively enforce the law.
During closing arguments, the deputies’ attorney, Bob Klingler, told the jury that Foreman posted lies online that caused pain and suffering.
“Mr. Foreman perpetuated lies intentionally, repeatedly, over three and a half years on the internet about these seven brave deputy sheriffs,” Klingler said. “Mr. Foreman did it intentionally. Mr. Foreman knew that what he posted on the internet were lies, so Mr. Foreman is legally wrong.”
The deputies were asking for Foreman to pay them damages and be prevented from using their likenesses and personas for future commercial use.
Foreman’s attorney, David Osborne Jr., argued he was exercising his First Amendment rights as a rapper and comedian, and that his opinion of the deputies cannot be misconstrued as statements of fact by any reasonable person.
Osborne pointed out that the plaintiffs in the case are sheriff’s deputies who are public officials who are held to a higher standard.
“It is a social commentary on the fact that they didn’t do things correctly,” Osborne said. “They don’t like it. That’s not their choice, to like it or not. They’re public officials. They’re going to he held to a higher standard. Their work’s going to be criticized. I mean, that’s just what happens when you’re a public official.”
Osborne then turned and gestured to Foreman, who has worn an American flag suit to court, with matching sunglasses, each day.
“Look at that suit,” Osborne said. “Does this look like a man who thinks that everybody’s going to assume that everything he’s saying is fact?”
Each of the deputies who sued Foreman took the stand to tell their side.
Tuesday’s testimony ended with Foreman himself on the stand, where he said that it was his right to make videos and posts using his own cameras after he alleged they broke down his door, caused damage and shorted him his money over wrong allegations.
“All of this is their fault,” Foreman said on Tuesday. “If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system, and there would be no songs ... my money would still be intact.”
Foreman said the warrant that prompted the search was for drug trafficking and kidnapping. He did not face any charges afterwards. However, the artist said the raid caused “significant damage” at his home. He also said the deputies disconnected his surveillance footage and stole some of his money, noting $400 was missing when the sheriff’s office returned the cash they took from his property.
In their lawsuit, deputies claim that Foreman’s music and posts have caused “humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation.” Videos played in court on Monday showed the rapper mocking several of the deputies, calling out their names and using actors to represent them.