Police Officer Testifies Afroman’s Wife Allegations Caused Pain

In a dramatic turn during Afroman’s defamation trial against Ohio deputies, Deputy Randolph L. Walters, Jr. testified on Tuesday about the profound personal impact of the rapper’s satirical music videos. Walters stated that Afroman’s claims of sleeping with his wife caused him “tremendous pain.”

Officer Testifies to Emotional Distress

Walters and several other police officers are suing the rapper, whose birth name is Joseph Foreman, for allegedly using their likeness without permission in music videos created after they raided his home in 2022. While on the stand, Walters discussed the emotional toll Afroman’s actions have taken. When questioned by an attorney about the truthfulness of the allegation concerning his wife, Walters expressed uncertainty, stating, “You wanna go there? I’ve been with that woman since middle school. I would hope she wouldn’t, but you know what, once somebody puts it out there, for their fun and entertainment, it’s out there, and it’s a problem.”

The testimony highlights the deputies’ claims of suffering ridicule and emotional distress due to the viral content. The video of Walters on the stand has become one of several clips from the hearing circulating widely on social media.

Afroman Defends Actions as Free Speech

Afroman defended himself on the stand, placing blame on the deputies for initiating the confrontation. “All of this is their fault,” Afroman asserted. “If they hadn’t wrongly raided my house, there would be no lawsuit, I would not know their names, they wouldn’t be on my home surveillance system, and there would be no songs … my money would still be intact.”

He reiterated his reasoning for the “trolling” during a 2023 interview with NPR, explaining his perspective as a “powerless Black man in America” seeking recourse after the raid. “And the only thing I could come up with was make a funny rap song about them and make some money, use the money to pay for the damages they did and move on,” he stated.