Frank Ocean Is Being Sued By His Father For $14.5 Million
Update: Calvin Cookey’s full complaint has reportedly been obtained.
Frank Ocean is facing a $14.5 million defamation lawsuit from his father Calvin Cooksey, TMZ has reported.
The allegations stem from a Tumblr post Ocean penned last year in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. "I was 6 years old when I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a faggot as he dragged me out of a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn't be served because she was dirty," Ocean wrote. Cooksey alleges that this passage is untrue and "damaged his financial opportunities in film and music." He's asking for $14.5 million in damages.
This is the second multi-million dollar lawsuit Cooksey has served relating to Ocean: last year, he asked a court to award him $142 million after Def Jam mogul Russell Simmons called him "a deadbeat dad."
The FADER has reached out for comment. In happier Frank Ocean news, the Blonde songwriter will be hitting the festival circuit in 2017.
Update: February 3, 2:15 p.m.: Cooksey accuses Tyler, The Creator of being "devil worshiper" in the full complaint.
Pitchfork has obtained a copy of Cooksey's complaint against Ocean. In it, Cooksey accuses Ocean's collaborator Tyler, the Creator of being a "devil worshiper," and calls Ocean "a fraud and only cared about making millions of dollars through Defendant's exclusive deal with Apple Inc.”
The lawsuit reads: "It's important to note that on June 21, 2016, the Defendant did NOT include a homophobic bigot named Tyler the Creator in the Defendant's June 21, 2016 anti-homophobic Tumblr essay." The complaint goes on to accuses Frank Ocean's mother, Katonya Breaux, of hypocrisy for slamming gospel singer Kim Burrell's homophobic rant while not calling out Tyler's use of slurs.
"This is the reason Defendant did not include this homophobic Tyler the Creator on June 21, 2016, because it would expose Defendant as a hypocrite and fraud who dishonestly betrayed the LGBT fans base for Tyler the Creator, who has clearly demonstrated hate for the LGBT community," the lawsuit says.
Cooksey's complaint makes frequent mention of Tyler's ongoing ban from the United Kingdom, instituted by in 2014 by then-Home Secretary (and current British Prime Minster) Theresa May.
According to another document viewed by Pitchfork, a judge has ordered Cooksey and Ocean into mediation in an attempt to reach a settlement.
Representatives for Tyler, The Creator had no comment when reached by The FADER.