Arcade gaming legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has secured a significant victory in court, winning nearly a quarter of a million dollars in a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. As reported by PC Gamer, Jobst, known for his focus on competitive and speedrunning gaming content, featured Mitchell in a video titled "The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!" which amassed over 500,000 views. The court found that Jobst's video contained defamatory, inaccurate, and unsubstantiated claims about Mitchell.
Mitchell's gaming prowess came under scrutiny in 2018 when his scores were removed from Twin Galaxies' leaderboards amid allegations that he used a MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) rather than authentic arcade cabinets to achieve his records in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr., which is against the rules. After a six-year battle, Mitchell successfully had his accolades reinstated in a "historical database" on Twin Galaxies' website, and his high scores were also recognized again by the Guinness World Records in 2020.
Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has won a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images.
The defamation lawsuit against Jobst, however, was not related to the validity of Mitchell's Donkey Kong scores. Instead, Mitchell took legal action because he alleged that Jobst's 2021 video falsely implied that a prior lawsuit Mitchell had against another YouTuber, Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith, led to Smith having to pay $1 million in damages and contributed to Smith's suicide in 2020. The video also reportedly suggested that Mitchell had expressed joy at the thought of Smith's suicide.
After receiving legal threats from Mitchell, Jobst edited the video, and Smith's brother later confirmed that no money was paid. Jobst acknowledged the court's decision on X/Twitter, stating, "I lost. The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony," and clarified that he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating. He also admitted that his claims about Smith were based on "incorrect information from multiple sources."
Jobst expressed his disappointment and gratitude for the support he received, saying, "From that point on unfortunately there was really nothing that could have saved me. I will now obviously consider my options... I know many of you will be upset with this and I am sorry for that. Thank you again for all the support I have received and I will endeavor to work as hard as I can to repay all that you are owed. I am proud that I never backed down and never allowed a bully to control my free expression."
The judge ordered Jobst to pay $187,800 (AU$300,000) for non-economic loss, $31,300 (AU$50,000) for aggravated damages, and $22,000 (AU$34,668.50) in interest, totaling around $241,000. The judge noted, "[Mitchell] may well have been justified in being ordered to pay more than AU$50,000 in aggravated damages, but that is the amount being sought by Mr Mitchell and that is the amount I shall award."
Mitchell first gained fame in the arcade gaming community for achieving a perfect score in Pac-Man in the '80s, and his rivalry with Steve Wiebe was highlighted in the acclaimed 2007 documentary, King of Kong.
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