Hasan Piker Pursues $72.5 Million Judgment Against Scott Jennings

Hasan Piker filed a $72.5 million defamation lawsuit against Scott Jennings this week.

The complaint was submitted to federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. It targets an episode of The Scott Jennings Show that aired on August 11. Piker argues that Jennings played a doctored video to suggest the streamer supports the lynching of Black people.

The legal filing details specific claims about the editing process. It states that the video combined clips from three separate Twitch livestreams and rearranged the order of Piker's remarks. The complaint notes that Piker was making sarcastic comments while reacting to an October 29, 2024, debate between two Black political commentators. The lawyers say the editors removed the context of that debate to make Piker look like he was expressing support for racial discrimination.

Jennings described Piker as a radical socialist streamer and the best friend of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during the broadcast. Jennings claimed Piker had been calling for Black voters to be lynched. A social media post by Jennings urged followers to listen to the clip to understand what socialists had in store for the Black community. Piker's lawyers assert that their client has never advocated for lynchings or proposed a plan resembling the one attributed to him.

Piker's team sent a written demand for a retraction to Jennings' attorneys in August. The filing states that Jennings' legal team acknowledged the letter but did not provide a substantive response. As of Wednesday, the post containing the video remained on X and had received three million views. Piker is seeking $27.5 million in compensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages.

The complaint also outlines potential motives for the broadcast. It suggests Jennings had a professional and political incentive to smear Piker. The document notes that Jennings was publicly reported to be under consideration for the role of White House press secretary during the weeks surrounding the broadcast. Piker currently has more than 3.1 million followers on Twitch, 2 million subscribers on YouTube, and roughly 1.9 million followers on Instagram.

Jennings did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.