What happened between Karl Jobst and Billy Mitchell? Drama explained as YouTuber loses $350k defamation trial

Billy Mitchell, the Donkey Kong champion had filed a defamation lawsuit against Karl Jobst, the Australian YouTuber. The legal battle began in 2020, and the verdict was delivered on April 1, 2025.

Judge Ken Barlowe, passed a judgment in favor of Mitchell, awarding him $350,000 in damages. The legal fight began when Karl posted a video on YouTube and casually linked the death of Ben Smith, also known as Apollo Legend to the lawsuit Mitchell had filed against him in 2020.

The court found Karl's statements made in those videos to be reckless, leading to both personal and professional damage to Mitchell.

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What sparked the legal battle between Billy Mitchell and Karl Jobst

The lawsuit was filed by Billy Mitchell against Karl back in September 2024. The lawsuit was filed after Karl, who has over 1.1 million followers on YouTube posted a video on YouTube. The video was titled, 'The Biggest Conmen In Video Game History Strike Again.'

In the video, Karl made statements that implied that Mitchell had a connection with the death of Apollo Legend, who was also a YouTuber who made commentary videos around speed runs. He died by suicide in December 2020. In one of those statements, Karl also claimed that Mitchell had ''expressed joy'' over the Apollo legend's death.

For context, Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Ben in 2020 after Ben accused him of cheating in Donkey Kong's high scores. Ben had posted multiple videos and accused Mitchell of fraudulent records. The case was then settled out of court in October 2020.

The accusing video came from Ben after Twin Galaxies and Guinness World Records removed Mitchell's achievements, as he was accused of faking his Donkey Kong high scores.

In his video, Karl claimed that Ben had to pay some amount to Mitchell as a part of the settlement, and that led to his suicide. However, it was revealed by the judge that there was no money involved in the settlement between Ben and Billy Mitchell.

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What happened during the verdict announcement?

Judge Ken Barlow criticized Karl's video and said that it had caused Mitchell distress and reputational damage, as per Brisbane Time. The judge said:

''He was reckless in making the allegations. His assertions were based on a fallacy, that Apollo Legend had paid a large sum of money to Mr Mitchell.''

The judge also pointed out a statement Karl had made in an interview where he said that he wanted to take down Mitchell in court. Referring to the same, the judge said:

“Clearly wanted to be the knight who slayed the Mitchell dragon. His lance was not as strong as he thought it to be.''

The court then awarded Billy Mitchell $300,000 in non-economic damages and $50,000 in aggravated damages. In addition to this, Karl has also been asked to pay $40,000 in interest for the damages since the video was posted, and he also has to cover Mitchell's legal costs.