Ohio Jury Acquits Afroman in Deputies' Defamation Suit

A jury in Adams County, Ohio, acquitted rapper Afroman, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, of all charges in a defamation lawsuit brought by seven sheriff's deputies on March 18, 2026. The three-day trial in Adams County Common Pleas Court centered on Foreman's use of home surveillance footage from a 2022 police raid to create satirical music videos and songs that mocked the officers involved.

The case stemmed from an August 2022 search by the Adams County Sheriff's Office at Foreman's residence in Winchester, Ohio. Deputies executed a warrant based on suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping, but found no evidence and filed no charges against him. Foreman later described the operation as a mistake during his testimony. In response, he incorporated the footage into several tracks, including "Lemon Pound Cake," which depicted an officer examining a cake on his kitchen counter, and "Will You Help Me Repair My Door," highlighting damage to his front door. The videos amassed millions of views on YouTube, with one exceeding 12 million and another surpassing 6.7 million. Foreman released a full album titled Lemon Pound Cake in 2023, using the material to address the incident.