Arcade gamer Billy “King of Kong” Mitchell has won almost a quarter of a million dollars in damages after a court ruled Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst had defamed him.
As spotted by PC Gamer, Jobst — who specializes in content around competitive and speedrunning gaming — included Mitchell in a video entitled “The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!” With 500,000 views, a court agreed that Jobst’s video defamed Mitchell and included inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims.
The King of Kong was initially stripped of his title in 2018 after his scores were scrubbed from Twin Galaxies’ leaderboards following claims the high score record holder had used a MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) and not arcade cabinets to secure his records in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr., which is strictly against the rules.
After six years of defending his records, Mitchell was later able to have his accolades reinstated as part of a “historical database” on Twin Galaxies’ website, a site that tracks competitive gaming records. His high scores were also reinstated by the Guinness World of Records in 2020.
But Mitchell’s defamation lawsuit against Jobst was unrelated to the legitimacy of his Donkey Kong scores. Rather, Mitchell sued because, as he alleged, Jobst’s 2021 video implied that Mitchell’s prior lawsuit against another YouTuber, Benjamin “Apollo Legend” Smith, resulted in the latter having to pay out $1m in damages and contributed to Smith taking his own life in 2020. It also reportedly suggested Mitchell had “expressed joy at the thought” of Smith’s suicide.
Jobst later edited his video after Mitchell threatened legal action, and Smith’s brother confirmed no money had been paid.
“I lost. The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony,” Jobst confirmed on X/Twitter, stressing he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating, and his claims about Smith were formed by “incorrect information from multiple sources.”
“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,” he added in a subsequent update.
The judge ordered Jobst to pay $187,800 (AU$300,000) for damages for non-economic loss, $31,300 (AU$50,000) for aggravated damages, as well as $22,000 (AU$34,668.50) in interest, totalling around $241,000, saying: “[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 famously achieved a perfect score in Pac-Man in the ’80s, before rising to fame in the 2007 documentary, King of Kong, which focused on the rivalry between Mitchell and Steve Wiebe.
Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
