Kavanaugh V. Klein

Ryan Kavanaugh, the co-founder of Triller, a video-sharing app, has recently filed a lawsuit against Ethan Klein and his YouTube show, H3H3 Productions, for "defamation". Kavanaugh claims that Klein is "harm[ing] and damag[ing]" him due to Ethan's multiple inclusions and mentions of a Variety article from June 2019 titled, "Ryan Kavanaugh Accused by Ex-Partner of Running a Ponzi Scheme", one of the many reasons that Ryan gives for his lawsuit. The article was later updated to show the retraction of the statement by Elon Spar, Kavanaugh's above-mentioned ex-partner, and Klein included that fact in later videos discussing the Variety article discussing Mr. Kavanaugh. Klein has presented evidence on his show that Kavanaugh had been allegedly threatening editors on his Wikipedia page with legal action if they didn't delete all of the information in the former "Controversies" section. The person who was alleged to be Kavanaugh had the username "rk777713".

On social media, Ryan Kavanaugh has been promoting his own article from CSQ.com, "The Power and The Dark Side of Social Media", which details Ethan Klein, his supposed "harmful" past and how Ethan has "lied to his followers" (though he has no discernable proof at the moment), as well as the ongoing lawsuit by Ryan against Ethan. He even promoted his article against Klein in the comment section of a photo posted by Klein on his personal Instagram page. The image contained Klein, his wife and his young son and the caption, written by Ethan, was wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving. The livestream on YouTube, "Ryan Kavanaugh Just Filed His Third Lawsuit Against Me", showed proof of the comment existing, despite the comment not being visible as of December 1st. Kavanaugh stated in his self-penned CQS article, "Klein started a Reddit thread where he and his followers discuss how they plan on harming me and gloat about what they have achieved". Ethan Klein does not control his followers in that way, however, as that isn't exactly how Reddit works.

Ethan Klein, the host of the H3H3 podcast on YouTube, has repeatedly defended himself against Kavanaugh, creating multiple videos discussing and debunking Kavanaugh's claims. The evidence Klein repeatedly presents in his own defense can be viewed on his YouTube channel. Ryan also claimed in the story he wrote that Klein, "pirated [his] pay-per-view event", the fight between Ben Askren and Jake Paul that was streamed on Triller, and supposedly took thousands of dollars worth of views from the company. Klein, however, stated in the livestream "Ryan Kavanaugh Just Filed His Third Lawsuit Against Me", he watched a short clip of the fight on his YouTube channel five days after the fight was live. Klein also claimed that bigger YouTube channels did the same as he did on his channel with the fight, yet those other channels were never held to the same, lawsuit-level standard.

Another defamation claim again Ethan Klein made by Kavanaugh is that Klein, "[said that Kavanaugh] looked like Harvey Weinstein", referencing the website (doesryankavanaughlooklikeharveyweinstein.com), made by Klein and H3H3 Productions. The podcast created the website based on a running joke on their show that Ryan Kavanaugh, in their opinion and possibly the opinions of others, physically resembles Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer that was accused and convicted of sexual crimes in the film industry. The website is, "about appearance only", as reiterated by Ethan Klein and has also said, "...this is a comparison in appearance and looks only" and the purpose of the website has been stated as being for clearing up any confusion anyone might have about telling the visual difference between Ryan Kavanaugh and Harvey Weinstein.

Kavanaugh has also accused Klein of buying paid traffic to promote his Weinstein-Kavanaugh photograph comparison website as well as purposefully banding his fans together to harass Kavanaugh on his social media pages, with no proof to back up his claim as of yet.

"[Kavanaugh's article about Klein] is 'a sea of slander and lies'...", stated Klein in the December 1st livestream regarding Kavanaugh. He stated in the same livestream that, "All I do is read the headlines of reputable organizations", including Variety and The New York Times. He then proceeded to read aloud the titles and a few select statements made by the articles regarding Ryan Kavanaugh. He concluded the impromptu read-aloud with the following, "Is me reading headlines 'defamation'?"

In conclusion, (it is my belief that) Ethan Klein of H3H3 has only ever defended his first amendment rights against Ryan Kavanaugh and Kavanaugh has (allegedly) repeatedly harassed both Klein and his family with lawsuits and promotion of an untrue, self-penned article.