By Fatma Younis
Progressive commentator Hasan Piker has filed a $72.5 million defamation lawsuit against conservative commentator Scott Jennings, alleging that Jennings deliberately distorted his remarks to falsely portray him as a supporter of lynching Black people.
Lawsuit filed in federal court
The 38-page complaint was filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., federal court. Piker claims Jennings defamed him during an Aug. 11 episode of “The Scott Jennings Show” by airing a doctored video from a 2024 livestream of Piker’s show.
Allegations of fabricated video
According to the complaint, Jennings played footage that combined clips from three separate Twitch livestreams, rearranged the sequence, and added a made-up quotation that Piker never uttered. Jennings described Piker as a “radical socialist streamer” and claimed he had been “calling for Black voters to be lynched.”
Piker denies the accusations
The complaint states that Piker has never advocated lynching or called for a return to lynchings. It says the video presented by Jennings took a sarcastic remark out of context; Piker was actually mocking a conservative commentator’s statement during a YouTube debate.
Retraction demand ignored
Piker’s legal team sent a written demand for a retraction in August. Jennings’ lawyers acknowledged receipt but have not issued a substantive response. As of Wednesday, the post containing the allegedly doctored video remained on X with over three million views.
Damages and background
Piker is seeking $27.5 million in compensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages. He is a social media personality with more than 3.1 million Twitch followers, 2 million YouTube subscribers, and roughly 1.9 million Instagram followers.
