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Frank Ocean has beaten a multi-million dollar libel lawsuit filed by his own father, Calvin Cooksey. A California federal judge ruled in the singer’s favor after finding Cooksey hadn’t proven his son defamed him in a 2016 Tumblr note following last summer’s Orlando nightclub shooting, according to Law360.
In the post, Ocean recounted a childhood experience in which his father introduced him to a homosexual slur. “I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a faggot as he dragged me out a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn’t be served because she was dirty,” he wrote. “That was the last afternoon I saw my father and the first time I heard that word, I think, although it wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t.”
Cooksey’s filing claimed the story never happened and that the post cost him multiple deals in film and music. As such, Cooksey sought $14.5 million in damages.
“It was a super sad case,” Ocean’s attorney shared in a statement given to Pitchfork. “I am sorry that my client had to go through this and am glad that we could bring closure.”