Former Donkey Kong high score champion Billy Mitchell has successfully sued Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst in response to a number of allegations Jobst made about him.
In a number of YouTube videos, Jobst alleged that Mitchell had cheated to achieve his previous world record high scores for Donkey Kong, a claim that Mitchell has been battling for some time.
Jobst also made stronger allegations about Mitchell, including a claim that Mitchell’s 2020 lawsuit against YouTuber Ben Smith (also known as Apollo Legend) was “a significant factor” in Smith taking his own life.
Mitchell responded by suing Jobst for defamation, and has now been found successful after the Brisbane District Court found in his favour (as reported by The Guardian), with judge Ken Barlow finding five separate defamatory imputations made by Jobst.
Jobst has been ordered to pay AU$350,000 ($220,000) plus interest and costs, to Mitchell – $300,000 in damages and an additional $50,000 in aggravated damages following Jobst’s decision to publish the video a second time, ‘mocking’ Mitchell’s complaint.
Jobst posted a statement on X in which he addressed the judge’s findings and apologised to his followers, some of whom had crowdfunded his legal costs.
“I lost,” he wrote. “The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony. From that point on unfortunately there was really nothing that could have saved me. I will now obviously consider my options.
“I know many of you will be upset with this and I am sorry for that. Thank you again for all the support I have received and I will endeavor to work as hard as I can to repay all that you are owed.”
In a series of short posts on X, Mitchell posted “nothing like the smell of victory in the evening air”, “Billy Mitchell always has a plan” and “thank you to everyone who supported me, I am grateful”.
Mitchell found fame in the 1980s and 1990s by claiming high scores on such games as Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. He got another spell in the spotlight when he was portrayed as the antagonist in documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, in which newcomer Steve Wiebe tries to beat his score.
The Donkey Kong high score leaderboard has moved on since the days of Wiebe vs Mitchell, with modern tables dominated by John McCurdy and current champion Robbie Lakeman.
