In a fight that never seems to end, Billy Mitchell can now proceed with his defamation suit against gaming records site Twin Galaxies. This comes as Twin Galaxies has had its anti-SLAPP motion rejected, as the court rules that Mitchell has enough evidence to at least warrant a lawsuit.
Mitchell sued Twin Galaxies for defamation in 2020, following the removal of his Donkey Kong and Pac-Man world records from the site in 2018. This was due to growing accusations that he achieved the scores using an emulator.
It is important to note that this does not mean that the court is suggesting Mitchell will win the case. All this ruling tells us is that they believe there is enough evidence on Mitchell's part to at least look into the matter.
Anti-SLAPP motions - or anti-“strategic lawsuit against public participation” - are a way in which a party can try and bring an end to a defamation case before it can actually begin. These motions are to prevent a person or organization from using the legal system to silence critics with the threat of an expensive lawsuit. In this case, the court has not ruled that this is the case, so Mitchell can indeed proceed with the lawsuit.
This is not the only lawsuit Billy Mitchell is pursuing. Last month, it was revealed that he is also taking legal action against YouTuber Karl Jobst. This time, it doesn't necessarily tie into the allegations of cheating, rather Jobst's criticism of separate legal action he took against fellow YouTuber, Apollo Legend, who ended his life last year. Jobst claimed in a video that Apollo Legend had to take up additional work to pay the legal costs of the lawsuit brought against him by Mitchell, which allegedly contributed to his worsening mental health.
The lawsuit brought against Jobst argues that the video implies Mitchell was a "major contributing factor" in Apollo Legend's poor mental health, which he denies.
Source: Axios Gaming newsletter