Ethan Klein suffers major setback in defamation lawsuit

Ethan Klein is in danger of being dragged into court for millions.

The prolific YouTuber recently filed an appeal to overturn a ruling in a defamation lawsuit filed by producer Ryan Kavanaugh.

The court previously ruled that Klein and his company were legally responsible for spreading misinformation against Kavanaugh after the 39-year-old accused the producer of running a fraud scheme.

Klein’s accusations were highlighted in a 2019 article, Ryan Kavanaugh Accused by Ex-Partner of Running a Ponzi Scheme, published by Variety.

The since-deleted article was used by Klein as authentic evidence of his claims.

“This is an important case about the growth of online and professional trolling, which required a real analysis of when free speech is no longer a harmless opinion,” Kavanaugh’s attorney said in a statement.

The conflict began when Klein streamed the 2021 boxing match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren.

The bout was officially streamed on Kavanaugh’s video-sharing app Triller and Klein allegedly cannibalised the platform’s views by sharing the fight on his livestream.

The dispute led to a series of online back-and-forths between the content creator and the entrepreneur.

However, since Klein’s anti-SLAPP motion has now been dismissed, Kavanaugh is legally allowed to pursue charges.

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