ADAMS COUNTY — The trial for rapper Joseph Foreman, known professionally as Afroman, began Monday in a lawsuit filed by Adams County sheriff’s deputies.
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The deputies allege Foreman used their likenesses without permission in social media posts and a music video, according to our news partners at WCPO.
The legal dispute centers on an Aug. 21, 2022, raid on Foreman’s home related to an investigation into drug trafficking and kidnapping.
Foreman, whose defense argues the case is a matter of freedom of speech, used security camera footage of the raid in the music video for his song “Lemon Pound Cake.”
The first day of the trial focused on social media posts Foreman made following the raid.
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Footage shared on his Instagram page showed multiple officers breaking down a door and entering his residence with rifles drawn.
He captured the raid on security cameras around his home and used the footage in the music video for “Lemon Pound Cake,” which subsequently went viral.
Foreman said he was in Chicago when the search warrant was executed.
“The police were all over my property,” Foreman said in a 2023 interview, noting that his neighbors called him to report the activity.
Although the warrant cited drug trafficking and kidnapping, Foreman did not face any charges following the search.
Foreman reported that the raid caused significant damage to his home and that deputies disconnected his surveillance cameras.
He also claimed that $400 was missing from the amount deputies reported seizing.
An investigation conducted by Clermont County concluded that no money was stolen but had instead been miscounted by deputies.
Foreman questioned the results of that investigation.
“They started investigating themselves, and they say it was simply a miscount. How do you miscount $400?” Foreman said.
The deputies filed the lawsuit seeking damages for humiliation. According to court documents, the officers also stated they received death threats following the release of the footage and social media posts.
The trial is expected to continue throughout the week.
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