George Floyd’s family is right to hold Kanye West to account for his hateful comments

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Indeed, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report found that while Floyd did have fentanyl in his system, he died from a combination of causes – notably “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” And during Chauvin’s trial, Dr Martin Tobin, a physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and the Hines Veteran Administration Hospital in Illinois, testified that Floyd died “from a low level of oxygen” and ruled out the possibility that the fentanyl found in Floyd’s system during the autopsy caused his death. In a release about the suit, Washington, along with her lawyers, claim Kanye made “false statements about George Floyd’s death to promote his brands, and increase marketing value and revenue for himself, his business partners, and associates.” Nuru Witherspoon, an attorney representing the family said : “The interests of the child are priority. George Floyd’s daughter is being traumatized by Kanye West’s comments and he’s creating an unsafe and unhealthy environment for her.” It may not be the only suit Kanye faces over the interview. Speaking to ABC News, Lee Merritt said, “We are looking into a lawsuit on behalf of George Floyd’s brother Philonise, regarding Kanye’s false statement about Floyd’s death.” In a separate statement to Rolling Stone, Merritt explained that the recent $1 billion judgment that family members of Sandy Hook victims won against Alex Jones has helped the family find a path towards holding Kanye accountable.