Ethan Klein is no stranger to being sued, and now it’s happening again. This time, Ethan and Hila Klein, the hosts of the H3 Podcast, are being sued by movie producer Ryan Kavanaugh for defamation and pirating.
Kavanaugh
posted an article
about the lawsuit outlining why he is going after Klein yet again. According to Kavanaugh, Klein promoted false claims about the producer through accusatory articles and Klein sharing with his viewers that Kavanaugh failed to pay a babysitter and had multiple DUIs.
In the article, Kavanaugh also pointed to a
website that Klein created
comparing his appearance to that of Harvey Weinstein. He also stated that Klein had hosted eight podcast episodes about him and had encouraged his audience to post negative ratings of his film, Triller. Klein also created a Reddit thread that promoted “harming” Kavanaugh.
But the accusations got far wilder. Kavanaugh then claimed that Klein “bought paid internet traffic” to harass Kavanaugh on multiple social media platforms. He also accused Klein of hiring Wikipedia editors to ruin the page about Kavanaugh and “optimized SEO results” to promote “unsavory stories” about him.
“All of this amounts to textbook malicious behavior, intended to harm me and Triller,” Kavanaugh said.
Kavanaugh compared Klein to “an angry child with a loaded gun,” accusing him of lies, slander, and nefarious SEO practices. Kavanaugh has called for the H3 Podcast to be completely removed from YouTube.
In a three-hour episode of Off The Rails, Klein said that the lawsuit all comes down to “fair use.” Klein had used a short clip of Kavanaugh’s content during an episode of the podcast, which led Kavanaugh to initially sue him for piracy. This claim caused Klein to create ongoing jokes at Kavanaugh’s expense.
But it hasn’t gone as far as Kavanaugh has claimed, said Klein.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QobESzsbh6M
“This is legal harassment. I am not creating these claims out of thin air. This is a bad dude, it’s well documented, and it’s being published. […] If you have a problem with what they are saying, take it up with them, not me,” Klein said.
Klein also denied writing bad reviews, creating traffic on Kavanaugh’s socials, or editing the Wikipedia pages. He also stated that he had never created a thread that promoted harm to Kavanaugh. Klein even showed an alleged screenshot of Kavanaugh sending him a threatening message, accusing Klein of making fake accounts to harass him and leave negative reviews.
“Do you care about the issues you’re bringing up? Do you actually care about the offensive things I said? Or are you just using this because you think it’s a tricky little pawn in your game?” Klein asked in the podcast.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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