Afroman’s lawyer in defamation case says cops should know being mocked is part of the job

They’ve got no right to sing the blues!

A lawyer for rapper Afroman effectively called the Ohio cops who sued him for defamation babies Wednesday — saying it’s part of their jobs to take heat and criticism.

“We see public officials all the time that are made fun of,” David Osborne, an attorney for the “Because I Got High” singer, said in a closing statement Wednesday. “They are going to be held to higher standards, their work is going to be criticized, that’s just what happens when you’re a public official.

“It’s a social commentary on the fact that they didn’t do things correctly,” he said of the officers — who fruitlessly raided the hip hop star’s rural Ohio home in 2022, and were later mocked in his music video  “Lemon Poundcake.

He described the 51-year-old hip hop star, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, as a comedic “entertainer” whose tunes are protected by free speech.

“He’s like a comedian. He exaggerates for the sake of entertainment,” Osborne said. 

Seven Adams County Deputy Sheriffs cops sued Foreman in March 2023 over the satirical music video, which features real footage of them during the raid as they busted down his door. In the footage, one officer is seen with his gun drawn in the kitchen, eyeing his “mama’s lemon poundcake.”

The officers claimed the rapper defamed them, invaded their constitutional privacy and subjected them to intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to the lawsuit.

An attorney for the cops, meanwhile, demanded a total of $3.9 million in damages — divided among the seven officers involved.

“[Foreman]  perpetuated lies intentionally repeatedly over 3.5 years on the internet about these seven brave deputy sheriffs,” lawyer Robert Klingler said in closing remarks Wednesday. “[He] knew that what he posted on  the internet were lies.”

“He says he’s not going to stop…tell him through your verdict that he needs to stop,” Klingler added. 

Foreman made the satirical music video in 2022 with footage from his home surveillance cameras — which he hoped would raise money for damages stemming from the raid, which never resulted in any charges.

“The Adams County Sheriff kicked down my door / Then I heard the glass break/ They found no kidnapping victims/ Just some lemon pound cake,” he raps in the viral song, which is set to the tune of “Under the Board Walk” by The Drifters.

After making the video,  he continued putting up posts with names of the officers involved and footage of the raid, the lawsuit states.

Several of Foreman’s social media posts allegedly falsely claimed that some of the cops “stole my money” and were “criminals disguised as law enforcement,” according to the suit. 

It also falsely declares that the officers are “white supremacists,” that Officer Brian Newman “used to do hard drugs” before “snitching” on his friends, and that Officer Lisa Phillips is “biologically male,” according to the lawsuit. 

During the raid, agents had been acting on a warrant asserting probable cause for narcotics being stored and kidnappings taking place on the property. 

No evidence of criminal activity, however, was found on the property.

“All of this is their fault,” Foreman testified in court Tuesday, according to WCPO.

“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.”

Phillips, who has repeatedly been the target of Foreman’s posts, broke down in tears on the stand when the “Lemon Poundcake” video was played Monday.

Foreman responded by posting vulgar videos eviscerating Philips on Instagram Tuesday — just hours after she testified against him in court.

“Where was these tears when she was standing in my yard with a loaded AR-15 ready to Swiss cheese me?” the rapper wrote. “She’s the predator.”