Hasan Piker Files $72.5 Million Defamation Suit Against Scott Jennings

Hasan Piker is seeking $72.5 million in damages from Scott Jennings, alleging the commentator used edited livestream footage to falsely depict him as supporting the lynching of Black Americans.

The defamation complaint was filed on Oct. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It seeks $27.5 million in compensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages.

Edited Clips at Center of Suit

The case centers on an Aug. 11 segment of The Scott Jennings Show and posts shared afterward. Piker alleges Jennings used a roughly 42-second compilation drawn from several livestreams, removing the context of his comments.

According to the complaint, Piker was sarcastically repeating an argument made by a Black conservative commentator during a discussion about race and criminal justice.

His lawyers also dispute a caption attributing the words “Let’s go back to a better time when lynchings were happening” to Piker. The complaint says he did not make that statement.

Retraction Demand

Piker’s lawyers sent Jennings a retraction demand on Aug. 31, the complaint says. It alleges Jennings’ counsel acknowledged receiving the demand but did not issue a correction.

The lawsuit brings claims of defamation, defamation by implication and false light. The allegations have not been tested in court, and the docket showed no substantive response from Jennings as of Oct. 28.