George Floyd 's daughter is planning to file a $250million lawsuit against Kanye West over controversial remarks he made about the manner of Floyd's death.
Attorneys for Floyd's family have issued a cease-and-desist letter to the rapper – also known as Ye – and have claimed that his daughter has been "retraumatised" over his comments.
They have also suggested that Kanye is "creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her".
Roxie Washington, who is acting on behalf of her child and the sole beneficiary of Floyd's estate, is suing Kanye, his business partners and associates for "harassment, misappropriation, defamation, and the infliction of emotional distress". They are seeking $250million in damages.
Kanye's remarks during his recent appearance on podcast Drink Champs is cited in the press release released by Witherspoon Law Group and Dixon & Dixon Attorneys At Law, who are representing Floyd's daughter.
"Kanye West knowingly made blatantly false statements about George Floyd's death to promote his brands, and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates," Floyd's legal representation claim. "During the podcast interview, Kanye West stated malicious falsehoods about George Floyd to profit from Mr Floyd's horrendous death and his family's trauma.
"The full interview has since been removed from YouTube and RevoltTV, but clips of the rapper's rant continue to be viewed and shared on social media platforms by millions across the world.
"The interests of the child are priority. George Floyd's daughter is being retraumatised by Kanye West's comments and he's creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her."
They added that Kanye's comments are a "repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd's life and to profit from his inhumane death".
In a cease-and-desist letter sent to Kanye, published by TMZ, attorneys representing the Floyd family say that they are "very distressed and hurt by the allegations" the rapper has made.
They demand that Kanye "immediately cease and desist, and remove the 'Drink Champs' interview and all similar statements regarding George Floyd from every podcast , website, advertisement, and social media site, no matter the platform or medium".
In the letter, it is also demanded that Kanye as well as his attorneys, employees, agents, partners, associates and representatives "refrain from publishing or causing to be published any other audio, video, statement, post, etc. regarding George Floyd, his estate, his family, and the circumstances surrounding his death, including but not limited to his manner of death".
The Mirror has reached out to Kanye's reps for comment.
Floyd died after being arrested by Derek Chauvin and three other officers on May 25 2020. He had been handcuffed and was lying face down on the street as Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes, despite Floyd calling out saying "I can't breathe".
Floyd's death sparked mass protests across the world and saw the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was dismissed by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 26 and arrested on May 29. On April 20 2021, Chauvin was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter and later sentenced to 22 1/2 years.
In December 2021, Chauvin also pled guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights by using unreasonable force and ignoring Floyd's serious medical needs and was sentenced to 21 years.
