Frank Ocean Defeats His Father’s Multi-Million Dollar Libel Suit

When a tragic shooting left 49 dead at an Orlando gay nightclub last year, Frank Ocean penned a heartfelt open letter on his Tumblr standing up against the harm done to the LGBTQ community. Little did he know, the letter would bring about a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and little did he know, it would come from his own estranged father.

In the letter, Ocean mentioned the first time he heard a homosexual slur: “I was six years old when 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.” Ocean’s father Calvin Cooksey sued his son over the anecdote, claiming that the incident never happened, and that the singer smeared his name by labeling him as a bigot, costing him multiple financial opportunities in film and music. Cooksey sought $14.5 million in damages.

Today, Law360 reports that Ocean defeated the libel suit, which ruled that Cooksey did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that his son defamed him. Ocean’s attorney Keith Bremer confirmed the ruling to Pitchfork, stating, “It was a super sad case. I am sorry that my client had to go through this and am glad that we could bring closure.”