YouTuber Must Pay $237K After Falsely Claiming Arcade Legend Billy Mitchell Celebrated Rival’s Death

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Strap yourselves in for a gripping exploration of the consequences faced by YouTube influencers who find themselves in court. In this tale, boldness and offhand remarks can prove perilous, even for those who initially seem to have strong points to make. This cautionary journey could lead to substantial penalties, serving as a reminder that words matter greatly before the eyes of a judge.

Today’s focus centers on the persistent storyline involving Billy Mitchell, Donkey Kong, and the YouTube controversy surrounding Karl Jobst’s channel. An Australian court has recently imposed a substantial penalty upon Queensland-based gaming YouTuber, Karl Jobst – approximately AU$380,000 (equivalent to around $237,000 USD) – due to his excessive accusations against the renowned arcade champion.

The court didn’t question the truth of his assertion about Billy Mitchell, who is known for breaking records in arcade games and has been involved in some questionable record-setting methods (experts can decide if they were legitimate or not)… regarding his satisfaction with a critic’s self-destruction, was deemed excessive by the Australian judicial system.

Based on the outcomes, it seems Jobst might have been better off avoiding the role of “legal advisor” on his channel, as he presented a storyline and a source of income related to court hearings that ended up being quite expensive for Jobst in the end.

Karl Jobst: “I never said the trial was about Billy Mitchell cheating.”

This collection includes two videos featuring him discussing the details of the trial, focusing on the timeframe leading up to it, particularly the final months. At exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes into the first video, he mentions that his goal was to persuade a judge to make an official decision regarding alleged cheating.

— Kung Fu Man (@KungFuMan316) April 2, 2025

Jobst asserted in the video that it seemed “remarkably unwise” of Mitchell to start the legal action. Whether this perspective would resonate with a judge is debatable, but the outcomes clearly demonstrate his point.

Jobst, who often explores topics like speedrunning and game controversy, shared a video last year with the title “Billy Mitchell’s Deceit Continues!”. In this video, he specifically targeted Billy Mitchell.

It’s not surprising that Jobst caused quite a stir with his latest video. After all, he’s known for making short documentaries that uncover corruption and deception. This particular video suggested that Mitchell had received a large sum of money as part of his settlement with the late YouTuber Benjamin Smith (Apollo Legend), which may have played a role in Smith’s unfortunate suicide in 2020. Jobst took it a step further, claiming that Mitchell showed joy over Smith’s death. This allegation has cost Jobst a significant amount of money compared to his estimated earnings from YouTube.

Mitchell, who has been at the center of legal battles and disputes over Donkey Kong high scores for years, didn’t take it lying down. He swiftly filed a lawsuit against Jobst, but interestingly, this time it wasn’t about the validity of his arcade records. Instead, Mitchell chose to challenge the harmful statements concerning the Apollo Legend settlement.

In this situation, Judge Ken Barlow delivered a strong legal blow to Jobst that might have been justified due to his online behavior. Previously, Jobst had boasted about the case and mocked Mitchell’s attorneys on social media, even after they requested him to retract his statement. Interestingly, it was discovered that no money was actually exchanged in Mitchell’s 2020 settlement with Apollo Legend. Instead, Smith only agreed to delete content related to Mitchell and transfer the copyrights of his videos to Mitchell. Initially, Jobst asserted that Apollo Legend had paid $1 million to Mitchell – a claim he later corrected after Smith’s brother clarified the truth. To make matters worse, Judge Barlow pointed out that over half a million people viewed Jobst’s original video, leading to a wave of malicious comments and accusations against Mitchell, including suggestions of murder. Furthermore, Jobst’s public reactions to Mitchell’s legal warnings did not help his case, as he described the lawsuit as “exciting” and predicted it would be an “amazing experience.” In this instance, Jobst’s YouTube persona as a truth-teller may have backfired, especially when the facts did not support his claims.

In the end, I wasn’t successful. The judge deemed Billy as a reliable witness, accepting all of his statements. Regrettably, after that, there seemed to be no viable solution for my case. Now, I’ll certainly explore my alternatives.

I know many of you will be upset with this and I am sorry for…

— Karl Jobst (@karljobstgaming) April 1, 2025

As a cinephile, I recently found myself in a bit of a pickle when one of my posts on a forum got slapped with some tough-talking Community Notes. They were as blunt as a stern judge’s ruling, but thankfully, they didn’t come with quite the hefty price tag!

Jobst failed to substantiate at least five different points he presented in his videos concerning Billy Mitchell. The main focus of the legal dispute revolved around videos that suggested Mitchell’s past conduct and legal activities might have played a role in the death by suicide of YouTube personality, Apollo Legend.

In my humble opinion as a movie critic, it wasn’t just the questionable credibility of Jobst that brought him down. Rather, it was a chain of unwise choices, including an assertion that couldn’t be substantiated and potentially endangered others. Granted, Jobst might have been right about his arcade record-breaking feat (a debate I personally choose to stay neutral on), but in the grand scheme of a court of law, such matters seem trivial compared to the reckless dissemination of falsehoods that could impact not only lives but also careers.

The total compensation for Jobst amounts to approximately AU$384,000. This includes AU$300,000 for non-economic damages, AU$50,000 in aggravated damages (which could have been higher but was limited by Judge Barlow), and over AU$34,000 in interest. The court granted the full amount of AU$50,000 in aggravated damages as claimed by Mitchell.

This incident underscores another lesson about YouTube: occasionally, online disputes can have tangible repercussions in the physical world. Currently, Billy Mitchell continues to reign supreme, retaining his contentious and litigious reputation within the gaming community. Regardless of whether he’s a cheater from the ’80s or not, he has proven adept at silencing YouTubers who overstep their boundaries, then doubling down on his actions.

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2025-04-07 20:55