Top 10 Times YouTubers Got Sued

Anxiety War

Zach Sweers is the man behind AnxietyWar, a YouTube channel that claims to confront and expose online predators. While his efforts posing online as a teen girl have led to arrests, it’s not been without controversy and legal trouble. In 2016, Zachary Snoeyink, one of the men the “video vigilante” helped get charged, sued the YouTuber alleging libel, slander, and invasion of privacy. His attorney also claimed that Sweers had distorted his footage through editing, falsely representing his client’s actions. The case eventually settled out of court, with the terms undisclosed.

Matt D’Avella

Parody songs were a big craze during the early days of YouTube. So it makes sense that minimalist filmmaker Matt D’Avella would experiment with one when he was young. Little did he know this would have disastrous consequences. In 2007, Matt and his brother Mark filmed “Produce Paradise” — which they uploaded to YouTube — in the grocery store they worked in, spitting rhymes that might have made customers a little worried about what they’d be buying. As a result, A&P sued the brothers for a million dollars for defamation, business and product disparagement, and trademark infringement. The case was eventually settled out of court and the video was taken down, although copies can be found online.

James Charles

This makeup guru has been at the center of numerous controversies, including much drama with fellow influencer Tati Westbrook. But the big one was his ex-employee Kelly Rocklein suing Charles in court with a major list of complaints. These include Disability Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, failure to provide minimum wage compensation, and other very serious allegations. James has stated that the claims made against him are absurd, feeling like he’s being blackmailed into a larger court settlement. With the case still ongoing as of May 2021, we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.

Sargon of Akkad

The 2016 American elections were an emotional time for many. One was YouTuber and comedian Akilah Hughes, who detailed her feelings in a video of herself at Hilary Clinton’s election night party. YouTube personality Carl Benjamin — aka Sargon of Akkad — uploaded a critical video called “SJW Levels of Awareness” that included small sections of Hughes' video. Akilah sued him for copyright infringement, but it appeared that wasn’t the only reason she did so. According to the court, Hughes admitted on social media that she intended to financially punish Carl and “use copyright laws to silence her political opponents and critics.” The case sided in Benjamin’s favor, awarding him his $39,000 in attorney’s fees.

Jon Rettinger / TechnoBuffalo

The practice of journalism has risks, as Jon Rettinger found out the hard way in 2011. TechnoBuffalo, the YouTuber’s then-tech review site, received confidential photos related to the unreleased Motorola Droid Bionic. After he shared the pics online, the promotional printing house hired by Motorola sued Rettinger to try to force him to reveal who leaked the information. He refused to reveal his source or sources. Rettinger lost the lawsuit initially because TechnoBuffalo wasn't deemed a proper media outlet, with the judge stating their claim of reporter's privilege was “misplaced”. Fortunately, after a motion to reconsider, TechnoBuffalo was deemed a news medium, protecting the anonymous tipster and winning the lawsuit.

MrRepzion and Chris Hansen

Veteran YouTuber James Jackson, aka Onision was in the public eye in the worst way in 2019 after serious allegations of abuse were leveled at him and his spouse Kai Avaroe. This and other alleged incidents had caught the attention of YouTube commentator MrRepzion (real name: Daniel Sulzbach) and famed American journalist Chris Hansen, who reported on the controversies. Jackson filed civil suits against the two YouTubers, and accused them of harassment. However, this all didn’t end initially as he expected. When the parties reached the courtroom, it turned out that the wrong Chris Hanson had been served. Onision requested his own complaint be dismissed.

Logan Paul

After he broadcast his notorious visit to the notorious Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, YouYube cracked down on the elder Paul brother. While the “Maverick” faced substantial backlash for his actions, production company Planeless Pictures decided to sue him because of what happened afterward. Alongside other social media influencers, Logan was to star in “Airplane Mode”, which was then to be distributed by Google. However, the controversy pushed the film to be shelved, and the deal was suspended. Planeless Pictures company sued Paul for three million dollars. They claimed that Paul deliberately sabotaged their deal with his actions and controversial upload.

Jim Sterling

YouTuber James Sterling is well-known for The Jimquisition, where he often takes deep dives into games and the practices of the gaming industry. In 2014, Sterling released a video criticizing the game “The Slaughtering Grounds” by Digital Homicide, a review which they tried to silence with YouTube’s copyright takedown system. This all ballooned into the company’s founder, James Romine, taking Sterling to court for purported defamation. The legal wrangling stretched over years, and was finally settled and dismissed with prejudice, in what was widely seen as a victory for free speech.

Ray William Johnson

Funny commentary has always been a very big part of YouTube and Ray William Johnson’s show =3 was one of the earliest versions of that, showcasing funny viral clips where the host would add commentary. But Jukin Media wasn’t happy with that. The company, which licenses and controls a wide variety of viral clips online, had issued take-down notices on YouTube on videos that included clips they owned. As such, Johnson’s studio initiated a lawsuit that attempted to prove that the clips were following the principles of fair use. Eventually Jukin and Johnson settled out of court.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or dishonorable, mentions:


Keemstar Sued for $3.5 Million, DramaAlert
Sued by Tattoo Artist Romeo Lacoste for Accusatory Video


Musicians Sued for Copying Identity, Poppy
Mars Argo Sued Poppy & Titanic Sinclair Over Alleged Copyright Infringement & Abuse

H3H3 Productions

Ethan and Hila Klein made a name for themselves with sharp, witty YouTube videos on YouTube. Fellow YouTuber Matt Hoss, however, was not at all happy with one of their videos that used portions of one of his own videos and mocked it. In 2016, he sued the couple for copyright infringement, which could have had big legal implications for many YouTubers. The YouTube community came together and created a GoFundMe to help the Kleins with legal expenses to fight the case in court . . . and they ended up winning. This was an underdog story with larger implications that many YouTubers could relate to.