Arcade gaming legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has been awarded nearly a quarter of a million dollars in a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. The court found that Jobst's video, titled "The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!", which garnered 500,000 views, contained defamatory and unsubstantiated claims against Mitchell.
In 2018, Mitchell's title as the "King of Kong" was initially revoked when his high 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 records in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr. After a six-year battle, Mitchell successfully had his accolades reinstated in a "historical database" on Twin Galaxies' website, and his scores were also recognized again by the Guinness World Records in 2020.
Mitchell's defamation suit against Jobst was not related to the validity of his Donkey Kong scores but stemmed from Jobst's video, which suggested that Mitchell's previous lawsuit against another YouTuber, Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith, led to Smith owing $1 million in damages and contributed to his suicide in 2020. The video also alleged that Mitchell had expressed joy at the thought of Smith's suicide.
After legal threats from Mitchell, Jobst edited the video, and Smith's brother confirmed that no money had been paid. Jobst acknowledged his defeat on X/Twitter, explaining that the judge found Mitchell to be a credible witness and believed his testimony. Jobst stressed that he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating and that his claims about Smith were based on incorrect information from multiple sources.
"I lost. The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony," Jobst stated, emphasizing his determination to explore his options and expressing gratitude for the support he received. He also expressed pride in standing firm against what he perceived as bullying.
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.
Mitchell's fame surged after achieving a perfect score in Pac-Man in the 1980s and was further highlighted in the 2007 documentary "King of Kong," which detailed his rivalry with Steve Wiebe.
