Defamation? Where?

On Wednesday, rapper Afroman scored a major victory in a closely watched lawsuit over his viral “Lemon Pound Cake” music videos.  

The videos turned a botched police raid at his home into a free speech test case that played out like a reality TV show in an Ohio courtroom. 

Seven Adams County deputies sued the Afroman, whose legal name is Joseph Foreman, saying the clips defamed them and ruined their lives, after they were turned into memes and taunted online; however, a jury rejected those claims.

The 51-year-old artist arrived at court in a bold red, white, and blue suit, matching shades, and his trademark afro, defending his decision to remix his own home security footage into music videos that have been watched millions of times. 

That footage came from an August 2022 raid on his Winchester, Ohio, home, where deputies with rifles broke down his gate and door looking for drugs and a kidnapping victim—and walked out with no arrests, no charges, and no evidence of a crime.

One visual from the raid—an officer lingering over a lemon pound cake baked by Afroman’s mother—became the hook for a song that clowned the raid in real time. 

Deputies told the court the videos led to online harassment, ridicule in their small community, and even threats; one female deputy broke down in tears while a 13-minute clip played in the courtroom.

Civil liberties groups, including the ACLU and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), backed Afroman, warning that punishing him for using his own security footage to criticize police would send a “chilling” message to the public. That message being 

Afroman’s lawyers kept it simple: this was his house, his cameras, his art—and his right to drag public officials who busted in and found nothing.

“We did it, America,” Afroman said in a social media post. “Freedom of speech! Right on! Right on!”