Hasan Piker sues Scott Jennings for defamation
Progressive Twitch streamer Hasan Piker filed a defamation lawsuit against conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings on Tuesday, accusing him of falsely claiming Piker advocated for lynching Black Americans after airing an edited video of his remarks.
The 38-page lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., centers on an Aug. 11 episode of "The Scott Jennings Show," in which Jennings shared clips of Piker claiming he had said, "the USA should resume lynchings against Black people."
Piker, who threatened legal action in August over the claim and shared further context to the clips, alleges Jennings knowingly misrepresented sarcastic comments he made during his livestreams by turning it into an apparent endorsement of racial violence.
"Mr. Jennings did not merely mischaracterize something Mr. Piker said," the complaint reads. "He took a false, fabricated, and manipulated video of Mr. Piker, added a made-up quotation that Mr. Piker never uttered, and then made accusations that went beyond even what the manipulated footage purported to show."
During the August broadcast, Jennings warned Black voters to pay close attention before playing the clip, which included an on-screen caption attributing a statement, "Let's go back to a better time when lynchings were happening," to Piker.
Jennings later accused Piker of "calling for Black voters to be lynched" and referred to what he called "the Piker plan of returning our country to lynchings."
The original footage came from an October 2024 Twitch broadcast in which Piker was reacting to a debate between two Black political commentators — one liberal and one conservative. After the conservative participant criticized "woke DAs," Piker sarcastically suggested the commentator wanted to return to an era of racial discrimination and lynchings, according to the complaint.
"He said, 'We need more Klansmen, OK? Can we go back to a better time when lynchings were happening?'" Piker said during the stream in reaction to the commentator's argument.
Piker's attorneys argue that the edited video removed the words "He said," along with his laughter and surrounding commentary, to intentionally make it appear as though Piker was expressing his own beliefs rather than mocking someone else's.
The dispute emerged amid the Michigan Senate race , where the edited video was circulated to criticize progressive Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed over his association with Piker.
When Jennings posted the segment on the social platform X, he referred to Piker as El-Sayed's "best pal and campaign partner," before accusing him of supporting racial violence.
The post has received roughly 2.5 million views as of Tuesday, according to the lawsuit, and Jennings allegedly refused to retract his statements despite receiving a written demand from Piker's attorneys on Aug. 31.
Piker's legal team also says the accusations damaged his reputation and threatened his ability to earn money through streaming, advertising and sponsorships.
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