George Floyd’s family sues Kanye West for saying he died from drug abuse

Rapper alleged Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose on a podcast, sparking a $250m lawsuit

The mother of George Floyd’s daughter, Roxie Washington, has sued rapper Kanye West for $250m (£221m) after the artist alleged that the 46-year-old man died from drug abuse rather than being murdered by a police officer.

Last Saturday, on the Drink Champs podcast, West, who legally changed his name to Ye, alleged that Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose. In the same interview, which has since been taken down by YouTube, West also made antisemitic comments.

However, Hennepin county chief medical examiner Dr Andrew Baker testified that Floyd’s immediate cause of death was “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement’s subdual, restraint and neck compression”, or rather the stopping of Floyd’s heart and lungs that prevented him from breathing.

In May 2020, Floyd’s death sparked international outrage and fueled a global conversation about police brutality in the US after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of the unarmed Black man for a total of nine minutes and 29 seconds during an arrest outside a Cup Foods grocery store.

In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty on three murder and manslaughter charges and is now serving two prison sentences concurrently of more than 22 years. Three other officers involved in the incident received lighter sentences.

Attorneys representing Washington from the Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys at Law also filed a cease and desist order against West.

It said: “Mr Floyd’s cause of death is well-settled through evidence presented in courts of law during the criminal and civil trials that were the result of his untimely and horrific death. Nevertheless you have maliciously made statements that are inaccurate and unfounded, causing damage to Mr Floyd’s estate and his family.”

… we have a small favour to ask. Millions are turning to the Guardian for open, independent, quality news every day, and readers in 180 countries around the world now support us financially.

We believe everyone deserves access to information that’s grounded in science and truth, and analysis rooted in authority and integrity. That’s why we made a different choice: to keep our reporting open for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This means more people can be better informed, united, and inspired to take meaningful action.

In these perilous times, a truth-seeking global news organisation like the Guardian is essential. We have no shareholders or billionaire owner, meaning our journalism is free from commercial and political influence – this makes us different. When it’s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power.