Twitch streamer Hasan Piker sued conservative commentator Scott Jennings on Tuesday, alleging that Jennings had defamed him by misconstruing a quote to make it sound like Piker endorsed lynchings. On his own podcast on Aug. 11, Jennings played a mashup of clips of Piker, including one in which Piker referenced going “back to a better time when lynchings were happening.” Jennings denounced the commentary and warned Black voters of the “Piker plan of returning our country to lynchings.” In the lawsuit, Piker’s attorneys state that it was clear that Piker was mocking another person’s argument — not offering his own support for lynchings — and that Jennings repeatedly contorted Piker’s words to convey the opposite of his actual meaning. Piker’s politics,” the lawsuit states.
They were factual assertions about what Mr. Piker had said and advocated in his work. Each statement was demonstrably false.” The suit seeks $72.5 million in damages.
Piker threatened to sue Jennings, who appears frequently on CNN, within a couple of days of the original comments. The controversy has already been adjudicated by Snopes, the myth-busting site, which came down on Piker’s side. He would also have to demonstrate that the comments were provably false statements of fact and not Jennings’ opinions.
Jennings was not simply expressing an opinion,” the lawsuit states. Piker had advocated racial violence against Black Americans.” Piker also asserts that he suffered harm to his reputation as a result of Jennings’ comments that damaged his ability to make a living. According to the complaint, Piker’s lawyers submitted a retraction demand to Jennings on Aug. 31, but they have not received a substantive response.
The mashup of Piker clips had been circulated a few days before Jennings’ commentary by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The compilation appeared intended to damage Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, who has appeared with Piker.
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