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Ethan Klein Slams Defamation Lawsuit Filed by Ryan Kavanaugh: “He Wields the Legal System Like a Malignant Tyrant”

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In response to the defamation claims, the podcast host argued that his criticisms of Kavanaugh are based on published news articles from reputable media outlets.


Ryan Kavanaugh Files Lawsuit Against Ethan Klein 

YouTuber and “H3 Podcast” host Ethan Klein issued a statement to Rogue Rocket on Tuesday condemning a lawsuit filed against him by media mogul Ryan Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh, a movie producer and co-founder of the social media app Triller, wrote an essay earlier that same day announcing the lawsuit. The tension between the two parties, however, stems back to when Triller sued Klein for allegedly pirating and broadcasting one of its marquee fights between Jake Paul and Ben Askren in April. 

Klein has argued that the short clip he played from the program falls under fair use. Meanwhile, Kavanaugh claims that amid this Triller legal battle, Klein has “posted more than eight podcasts disparaging” him with defamatory remarks. This prompted him to file the separate suit against Klein personally Tuesday.

“He has posted video after video attacking and slandering me personally, despite the fact that, while I am a shareholder and co-founder, I am not Triller,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Among other claims, Kavanaugh alleged that Klein has falsely accused him of not paying his nanny and receiving two DUIs. Kavanaugh also accused Klein of repeatedly taking a Variety article that accused him of running a Ponzi scheme out of context and not clarifying that the accusation at hand had been revoked.

Kavanaugh additionally alleged that Klein encouraged his followers to carry out online attacks against him. He claimed his reputation was further harmed when Klein allegedly had bots edit Kavanaugh’s Wikipedia page with negative information and give poor reviews of the Triller app.

“All of this amounts to textbook malicious behavior, intended to harm me and Triller,” Kavanaugh wrote. “This leaves me with no choice but to sue. One malignant internet personality with a large following—the equivalent of an angry child with a loaded gun—can cause disproportionate harm to anyone, using lies, slander, and SEO, and suffer few if any consequences.”

According to a screenshot of the lawsuit Kavanaugh posted to Instagram, he is accusing Klein of defamation and defamation by implication. 

Ethan Klein Denies Accusations

In his statement to Rogue Rocket, Klein denied the accusations. 

“​​Ryan Kavanaugh’s first malicious lie is that he claims I pirated his event,” Klein wrote. “Fair use is at the heart of this lawsuit, same as with our first lawsuit. We used a short clip of the event during an extremely critical commentary during a 3 hour podcast. Ryan Kavanaugh tries to blame me for his event being widely pirated which is pure defamation. We didn’t even react to the event until days after it was streamed on PPV. If he cared about pirates why did he drop all of his other lawsuits against actual pirates but only kept the one against me?”

Klein added that he has not told his fans to harass Kavanaugh and has actually discouraged them from doing so on multiple occasions. Klein also said he did not make up allegations that Kavanaugh received a DUI or did not pay his nanny, citing links to articles by The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Fox San Diego that previously reported on these cases. 

I am not creating any of these claims, but merely reading what has already been published by well respected news sources. How is that defamation?” he said.

Klein went on to argue that he repeatedly made it clear on his “H3 Podcast” that the allegations mentioned in the Variety article were eventually revoked. Klein then wrote that if Kavanaugh “has a problem with the article,” he should “take it up with Variety, one of the most trusted news sources in entertainment, not me.”

The YouTuber noted that he has only encouraged his followers to provide honest reviews for the Triller app and believes that Kavanaugh is unjustifiably placing full blame for poor reviews on him when there are other factors to consider. 

“He claims I am solely responsible for every 1 star review Triller has received, despite one of Triller’s stars and equity holders Noah Beck making a TikTok complaining about the app being flipped,” Klein claimed. 

Klein additionally shared quotes from other articles written about Kavanaugh in which he was previously been accused of being dishonest. 

“Ryan Kavanaugh is a business elite who is used to suing, harassing and breaking the law with no consequences,” Klein continued. “He wields the legal system like a malignant tyrant, uses it to silence his critics, and now to stifle fair use, something we all on youtube should care about.”

In a Twitter thread, he further accused Kavanaugh of trying to get him banned from YouTube and said Kavanaugh has allegedly sent him a “threatening” message on Instagram. 

For his part, Kavanaugh spent much of Tuesday promoting his lawsuit on social media. 

“For people who just blindly believe what Ethan is preaching he is lying and by doing his bidding you are helping him harm a lot of people while putting millions in his pocket,” he alleged in one Instagram post.

See what others are saying: (The Hollywood Reporter) (Insider)

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Max to Agrees to “Properly” Credit Writers and Directors After Facing Backlash For Lumping Them in As “Creators”

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The company said the credits were laid out incorrectly due to “an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max.”


After film and television writers slammed Max for crediting all writers, producers, and directors as general “creators” on its platform, the company said it will be adjusting its credits display.

“We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” the streaming service said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. 

Max — the new rebrand of HBO Max that incorporates Discovery content — launched on Tuesday to much criticism. Amid glitches and app-switching confusion, the biggest backlash it faced was over the choice to lump creative roles into one credit section called “creators.” As one viral tweet noted, if a user were to select the film “Raging Bull,” the service’s display would not specifically credit Martin Scorsese as the director, rather, his name would be included at random with half a dozen other people, including writers and producers. 

The decision was condemned by many in the industry who argued it minimizes writers and directors by not properly giving them credit where it is due. Especially amid the ongoing writers’ strike, and with directors and actors starting negotiations with studios, some took it as a slap in the face. 

“The studios don’t want anyone to know our names,” writer Christina Strain tweeted. “It’s easier to pay us nothing if we’re faceless.”

“Another move from studios to diminish the role of writers, directors, actors and other craftspeople. Miss me wit this nonsense,” Jorge Rivera, the Vice-Chair of the Writers Guild’s Latinx Writers Committee, added. 

In a statement, Directors Guild President Lesli Linka Glatter said that Warner Bros. Discovery’s choice to “collapse” these roles into one credit “while we are in negotiations with them is a grave insult to our members and our union.”

“The DGA will not stand for it,” Glatter continued.

WGA West President Meredith Stiehm claimed the move was “a credits violation,” as well as an insult “to the artists that make the films and TV shows that make their corporation billions.”

On Wednesday, Max said it would rework its crediting. 

“We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake,” the platform said.

See what others are saying: (Gizmodo) (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Los Angeles Times)

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A Quarter of Young British Men Support Andrew Tate’s Thoughts on Women

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U.K. residents at large, however, do not view him favorably.


Even under house arrest in Romania, misogynist influencer Andrew Tate still holds substantial sway over young men. 

According to data from YouGov that was obtained by The Independent, 26% of U.K. men between 18 and 29 years old who know of Tate agree with his views on women. That figure was largely the same for men between 30 and 39, as 28% agreed with Tate’s opinions on the subject. 

Men in their 30s were slightly more likely to agree with Tate on his thoughts about masculinity. Three out of ten supported those views, compared to just a quarter of men 18 to 29.

Those statistics only include the thoughts of men who have heard of Tate, but per YouGov, most have. In the 18 to 29 group, 93% were familiar with him, and 86% of men in their 30s knew of him. 

The U.K. at large was less aware of Tate, with just 63% of British adults having heard of him. Of that group, only 6% held a positive view of him. 

Tate has faced substantial backlash for his sexist rhetoric over the years. In the past, he said that men should have “authority” over their wives or girlfriends, and that women should “bear some responsibility” for being raped. He was previously banned from Twitter over his extremist views on women but has since been allowed back on the platform. 

He is currently being investigated in Romania for organized crime and human trafficking. He was arrested and held in custody in December but was released to house arrest earlier this year. No formal charges have been filed against him yet and he has maintained his innocence. 

Tate currently boasts a Twitter following of 6.7 million. It has grown significantly since he was enveloped in legal controversy, and many of his supporters have demanded his release. 

See what others are saying: (The Independent) (Glamour U.K.)

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Involved in “Near Catastrophic” Paparazzi Chase

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“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” a spokesperson for the couple said.


“Aggressive” Paparazzi Chase Couple in New York

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase Tuesday night in New York City, according to a spokesperson for the couple.

In a statement, the spokesperson described the photographers as “highly aggressive.”

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the statement added.

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” it continued. 

Details of the incident are still emerging, but BBC News reported that there are claims the chase involved roughly six cars driving recklessly by running red lights, driving on the sidewalk, carrying out blocking moves, going backward on a one-way road, and taking pictures while driving. 

The chase happened after Harry and Meghan were leaving the Women of Vision Awards with Meghan’s mother, Doria. They did not want photographers to learn where they were staying and attempted to avoid them in what turned into a 75-minute chase on a main road in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. They eventually ducked into a New York Police Department Precinct to hide out before getting into a different vehicle.

The NYPD released a statement confirming that they assisted in protecting the couple as “numerous photographers” hindered their transport. Officials said they made it to their destination and there were no collisions, injuries, or arrests. 

The couple’s spokesperson is asking the public to not share or post footage of the incident. 

“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved,” the spokesperson said. 

Memories of Princess Diana

The chase evokes the brutal press hounding Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was subjected to throughout her life. The paparazzi’s obsession with her ultimately resulted in her death in 1997, when she was killed in a car crash after being chased by photographers in Paris. 

Since marrying Meghan and later bowing out of the Royal Family, Harry has made it explicitly clear that he fears those events could happen again. Meghan has been the subject of endless tabloid scrutiny, enduring racism and harassment from the press. Part of the reason they left the Royal Family was to keep their family protected from such attacks.

Mayor Eric Adams brought up Diana’s tragic passing while speaking about Tuesday night’s chase. 

“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how [Harry’s] mom died,” Adams said while speaking to reporters. “And it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well…I think that was a bit reckless and irresponsible.” 

Adams also questioned whether or not he believes a chase could go on for two hours in a city as congested as New York, but noted that even a 10-minute chase would be dangerous. He said he will be briefed on the exact timeline and details later. 

See what others are saying: (BBC News) (Associated Press) (Yahoo News)

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