Billy Mitchell Wins $237K in Defamation Suit Against YouTuber

Arcade gaming legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has been awarded nearly a quarter of a million dollars in damages following a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. As reported by PC Gamer, Jobst, known for his content on competitive and speedrunning gaming, featured Mitchell in a video titled "The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!" which garnered 500,000 views. The court ruled that the video contained inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims, leading to Mitchell's defamation claim.

Mitchell's gaming prowess came under scrutiny in 2018 when his scores were removed from Twin Galaxies' leaderboards amid allegations that he used a MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) rather than arcade cabinets to achieve high scores in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr., which is against the rules. However, after a six-year battle, Mitchell successfully had his records reinstated in a "historical database" on Twin Galaxies' website, and his scores were also recognized again by the Guinness World Records in 2020.

The defamation lawsuit against Jobst was not directly related to Mitchell's Donkey Kong scores but stemmed from Jobst's 2021 video. The video allegedly implied that Mitchell's earlier lawsuit against YouTuber Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith led to Smith having to pay $1 million in damages and contributed to his suicide in 2020. It also suggested that Mitchell expressed joy over Smith's death.

Jobst edited the video after Mitchell's legal threat, and Smith's brother confirmed no money was paid. Jobst admitted his defeat on X/Twitter, acknowledging that the judge found Mitchell credible and believed his testimony. He clarified that he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating and that his claims about Smith were based on incorrect information from multiple sources.

Despite his loss, Jobst expressed pride in not backing down and resisting what he perceived as bullying to his freedom of expression. He was ordered to pay $187,800 (AU$300,000) for non-economic loss, $31,300 (AU$50,000) for aggravated damages, and $22,000 (AU$34,668.50) in interest, totaling around $241,000.

Mitchell, who achieved a perfect score in Pac-Man in the '80s, gained fame through the 2007 documentary, King of Kong, which highlighted his rivalry with Steve Wiebe.