It seems we're having no shortage of high-profile legal dramas - from Gwyneth Paltrow's hit-and-run ski incident to Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial.
Now, we can add another one to the list, as US rapper Afroman is being sued by the cops who raided his home last year.
The seven police officers involved have claimed that the 48-year-old - who used footage of the botched raid in music videos for his songs 'Lemon Pound Cake' and 'Will You Help Me Repair My Door' - has caused them embarrassment and "emotional distress".
According to legal documents obtained by AP, the lawsuit was brought by four sergeants, two deputies, and a detective from the Adam's County Sheriff's Office in Ohio.
In the lawsuit, they argue that their faces were shown as they raided Afroman's home in August 2022, and his subsequent decision to use this footage in his work caused them to suffer "emotional distress, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of reputation and humiliation."
The officers are now reportedly seeking financial compensation from Afroman's profits from the use of their personas - which includes proceeds from the songs, merchandise, and music videos. They're also seeking a court injunction to take down all videos and footage of them.
Afroman made a lengthy statement via Instagram, where he blasted the judge for being "racist" and declaring that he would be countersuing. "Essentially a racist judge signed a fictitious false warrant, lying on the warrant, accusing me of kidnapping and drug trafficking. The warrant put the Adams county sheriff in a position to attempt to kill me."
The 'Because I Got High' rapped then added: "After the Adams County Sheriff. Burglarized vandalized and destroyed my property. They became thieves and stole my money. After they stole my money they became criminals. After they became criminals they lost their right of privacy."
"My house is my property, my video camera films, everything on my property as they begin, stealing my money,disconnecting plus destroying my video camera system, they became my property! Criminals caught in the act, of vandalizing and stealing money. My video footage is my property. I used it to identify the criminals who broke into my house,and stole my money. I used it to identify criminals, who broke into my house, stole my money and disconnected my home security system [sic]," he continued.
Afroman then revealed that he used the footage to "raise money to pay for the damages they done and to identify the criminals operating inside of the sheriff department that stole my money [ransack] my house and disconnected my video cameras."
He added: "We are planning to counter sue for the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this had on my clients family, career and property."
