social medium

Afroman has emerged victorious from an invasion of privacy and defamation case filed against him by seven members of Ohio’s Adams County Sheriff’s Office over mocking videos and social media posts the rapper put out after a failed 2022 raid on his home.

“We did it, America! Yeah, we did it! Freedom of speech! Right on! Right on! Yeah! God bless America!” the 51-year-old rapper, born Joseph Foreman, shouted outside the courthouse after the Wednesday evening verdict as supporters rallied behind him. In the clip, under a white fur coat, he was rocking the same American flag shades and red, white and blue suit and tie he had worn on the stand Tuesday.

Four deputies, two sergeants and a detective with the Adams County sheriff filed the lawsuit in March 2023, seeking to reclaim any money the rapper made from what they said was unauthorized use of their likenesses. The group wanted nearly $4 million in damages. Foreman used footage from the raid in videos for songs including “Lemon Pound Cake” to make money to pay for the damage done to his home during the raid, when his front gate was broken down and his front door smashed in.

The plaintiffs said in their lawsuit that the posts and videos caused them “humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation” and made it difficult to do their law enforcement work.

At trial, all seven plaintiffs testified about the harassment they had suffered because of the rapper’s music and videos. One, Deputy Lisa Phillips, had her gender identity called into question in Foreman’s videos and social media posts. She cried on the stand as a video suggesting she enjoyed sex with other women was played for the court.

The jury apparently agreed with the argument that the sheriff’s officers were acting in a public capacity during the raid and therefore were not shielded from criticism of their behavior.

“No reasonable person would expect a police officer not to be criticized. They’ve been called names before,” defense lawyer David Osborne said in closing arguments for the rapper and comedian, known for his breakout 2000 hit, “Because I Got High.”

In 2022, the sheriff’s team was acting on a warrant showing probable cause that drugs and drug paraphernalia would be found on the property and alleging that trafficking and kidnapping had happened there. No evidence of a crime was found, and no charges were filed.

Foreman wasn’t home during the raid but was able to see at least part of it via a video recorded by his ex-wife and footage captured on his home security system before law enforcement turned off those cameras. He said on the stand that the raid traumatized his children, who were 10 and 12 at the time.

“The whole raid was a mistake. All of this is their fault,” Foreman testified Tuesday. “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, nothing.”

Foreman also defended his right to use the raid footage as fodder for his work.

“After they left, I had the right to kick the can and to do what I had to do to repair the damage they brought to my house. Yes, I did,” he testified. “I have freedom of speech. I’m a rapper. I entertain.”

Foreman discussed his reaction to the lawsuit with local station WCPO Channel 9 in 2023. “From the first 10 seconds, I was offended. I was appalled. I was like ‘What?’ Then I started laughing,” he said. “These guys with their rifles are crying about my comedy songs.”

Meanwhile, as the jury deliberated Wednesday, an entirely different Adams County Sheriff’s Office was feeling online heat linked to the trial: the office in Colorado’s Adams County.

“The Adams County Sheriff’s Office has received a flood of social media comments, DMs, and phone calls about the #Afroman defamation trial,” the Colorado department said on X. “It’s clear this is important to a lot of people. There’s just one small issue: that’s the ACSO in Ohio. We are the ACSO in #Colorado. Different states, same name.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Meta, YouTube and Snapchat are already under scrutiny for risks they pose for young people. Now they are facing another hurdle in their home state.

California lawmakers are considering legislation to restrict social media use for teens and children under 16 years old. Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and others introduced a bipartisan bill that would bar social media platforms from allowing users under 16 years old from creating or maintaining accounts.

The legislation comes amid mounting concerns about how social networks impact the mental health of young people. Anxiety among parents and lawmakers has heightened as platforms and AI chatbots become more intertwined with people’s daily life.

Last month, tech executives, including Meta’s chief executive and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, testified in a landmark trial in Los Angeles over a lawsuit that alleges social media is addictive and harms children.

The trial centers on whether tech companies such as Instagram, which is owned by Meta, and YouTube can be held liable for allegedly promoting a harmful product and addicting users to their platforms.

California has passed legislation before aimed at making social media platforms and chatbots safer but faced pushback from tech industry groups that have sued to stop new laws from taking effect. Tech companies are have responded by releasing more parental controls and restrictions for young users.

Other countries have been moving forward with restrictions on social media. Last year, Australia barred children under 16 years old from having social media accounts.

TechNet, whose members include Meta and Google, said in a statement that it hasn’t taken a position on the California bill but doesn’t believe a ban will effectively achieve the Legislature’s goal’s.

“We support balanced, evidence-based solutions that strengthen protections for young people, equip parents with meaningful tools, and ensure accountability across platforms. Our companies have made significant investments in teen safety and parental controls, and we remain committed to building on that progress,” said Robert Boykin, TechNet Executive Director for California and the Southwest in a statement.

The use of social media by young people has divided tech executives.

Pinterest Chief Executive Bill Ready wrote in an op-ed in TIME published on Friday that governments should follow Australia’s lead and ban social media for kids under 16 years old if tech companies don’t prioritize safety.

“Social media, as it’s configured today, is not safe for young people under 16,” he said.”Instead, it’s been designed to maximize view time, keeping kids glued to a screen with little regard for their well-being.”

Lowenthal’s bill cited social media’s dangers such as “exposure to harmful content, compulsive use patterns, exploitation, and adverse impacts on mental health and well-being.”

“Existing age-based restrictions that rely primarily on user self-attestation have proven ineffective and place an unreasonable burden on children and families rather than on the entities that design, operate, and profit from social media platforms,” the bill states.

A spokesman for Lowenthal didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rainelle Krause, a coloratura soprano who went viral for singing a signature aria while hanging upside down from aerial silks, has died after a short hospitalization, her family announced “with immense sadness” Tuesday on social media. She was 37.

“Rainelle was a force in our lives, a brilliant talent defined by grit, fearlessness, curiosity, intelligence, integrity, and resilience,” the family said in a statement on Instagram. “Onstage, her voice matched the breathtaking power of her spirit. Offstage, she was a loving, caring soul whose vibrant energy lit up everyone around her. Our hearts are full from the years we shared, even as we’re shocked that her skyrocketing career was cut short.”

The family gave no further details about the circumstances of her death but said they were grateful to have Krause’s “preserved performances” to revisit. They said they would be planning a celebration of life “at a later date” but wanted to share the sad news now with friends and fans.

“Rainelle always gave her very best, pouring her heart into her art and those she loved,” the family said. “The best way we can honor her memory is by living her values every day. We encourage you to keep her memory alive by sharing her beautiful performances.”

Krause, whose website dubbed the Queen of the Night in “The Magic Flute” as her signature role, debuted in that role at the Metropolitan Opera over the holidays. She did the same last fall at Opera Atelier in Toronto.

“Although we knew Rainelle for only a matter of months, we will never forget her astonishing talent. We were awed by her bravery and daring and deeply moved by her willingness to draw all of us into her circle of friends,” Opera Atelier said Wednesday on social media. “Beautiful, generous, talented and kind, Rainelle is irreplaceable and will always hold a unique place in our memories.”

Born in Florida, Krause graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a bachelor’s in music and a master’s degree in music in vocal performance. The English National Opera said she trained with the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany, the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles, Opera Las Vegas, the Taos Opera Institute and Opera Nova Costa Rica.

She performed with opera companies in Nashville and Atlanta, and in Texas she sang with the Dallas Opera, with symphony orchestras in Irving and Plano, and with a master chorale in Amarillo. She was set to debut with the Santa Fe Opera in May.

Internationally, Krause’s “The Magic Flute” performances included gigs in Berlin, Copenhagen and elsewhere. Roles outside of the Queen of the Night included the title role in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” the princess in “The Snow Queen,” Zerlina in “Don Giovanni” and Pat Nixon in “Nixon in China.”

As for her viral acrobatic performances, those appeared to have been on hold in the year before her death.

“I can’t even begin to express how much I miss aerial work,” Krause wrote last March on social media. “I’ve been dealing with horrendous shoulder impingement for months, I’ve been in physical therapy since last summer, I’m continuously learning new ways to attempt to build strength and fluency in order to support my VERY hypermobile joints.

“I am in pain most days,” she continued. “But I’m not giving up, I’m seeing incremental improvements, and I will fly again — this time working in concert with the body I have, instead of forcing myself to ‘just put in the work’ with all the wrong pathways.”