William ‘Billy’ James Mitchell sues Brisbane YouTuber Karl Jobst for reputational damages

A professional gamer who held the world record score for arcade game Donkey Kong is suing a Brisbane YouTuber.

A famous arcade gamer and former Donkey Kong world record holder is suing an Australian YouTuber.

William “Billy” James Mitchell has lodged proceedings against Brisbane-based YouTuber Karl Jobst over comments Mr Jobst made in a YouTube video published online in May 2021.

Mr Mitchell claims Mr Jobst defamed him when he said in the video the gamer had contributed to the death by suicide of another YouTuber, Ben Smith – also known as “Apollo Legend” – in 2021.

Gamer Billy Mitchell is suing an Australian YouTuber.

Mr Mitchell, 59, shot to fame in 1982 when he set world records for playing the hit arcade games Donkey Kong and Pac Man.

His lawyer, Peter Somers, told Brisbane District Court on Monday that his client had sued Mr Smith for defamation in February 2020 over allegations the YouTuber had made that Mr Mitchell had “cheated on world records”.

The lawsuit was ultimately settled outside of court and did not entail any monetary value, Mr Somers said.

Mr Mitchell was skilled in the video arcade game Donkey Kong. Picture: Supplied

Mr Mitchell is arguing that Mr Jobst falsely claimed that the gamer callously expressed joy at Mr Smith’s death.

“Several months after the settlement, Mr Smith unfortunately took his own life,” Mr Somers said.

“He posted a video on YouTube.

“In essence, it’s to address … (that) Mr Smith did not blame anyone in the subsequent actions of taking his own life.”

The video Mr Smith published on YouTube before his death was played in court on day one of the trial on Monday.

Mr Jobst’s video was also played in court. It included allegations implying Mr Smith took his own life after facing financial stress as a result of Mr Mitchell’s lawsuit.

He also held several world records on the arcade game Pac Man.

Mr Somers said the allegations connecting his client to Mr Smith’s death outlined in Mr Jobst’s video had impacted Mr Mitchell and “his reputation”.

Mr Somers said there was also an “extensive number of public comments” on Mr Jobst’s video that were subject to Mr Mitchell’s claim.

A separate video published online by Mr Mitchell was also played to the court. In it, he addresses his online followers over the “the most heinous accusations” by Mr Jobst.

“Jobst outright states I drove Apollo to suicide,” Mitchell said in the video.

“These claims and that story are demonstrably false. They are a total lie.”

Brisbane-based content creator Karl Jobst made the video in 2021. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Mr Mitchell went on to explain in the video that there was “no financial transaction ever” made between him and Mr Smith.

“The reality is that we reached our settlement, we went our separate ways,” he said in the video.

“The agreement did not have any impact on his life contrary of the Jobst lie. I did not want to ruin a life.

“(His health was a) major factor of why I walked away.”

Mr Mitchell claimed in the video that Mr Jobst had “wanted to rile up his viewers’ emotions” by making the “very calculated” claim against him.

In court, Mr Mitchell said he was “absolutely angry” and “shocked” when he first saw Mr Jobst’s video.

“I was totally lost, quite honestly when I heard the words and I kept watching the video, I got absolutely terrified,” he said.

“Mr Jobst had opened up an entirely new spectrum of defamation.

“Nobody of my life in any part of my life had ever accused me of something like that, hounding a young man to commit suicide.

“Nobody had made an accusation like that. I was totally lost.”

Mr Mitchell said his health declined following the video, where he lost 25 pounds and couldn’t eat food for two weeks.

William ‘Billy’ Mitchell leaves Brisbane District Court, where he gave evidence during his defamation trial against Brisbane YouTuber Karl Jobst. Picture: NewsWire

He told the court after the video was released, at least three commitments to appear at gaming conventions were cancelled by the organiser.

One event was estimated to have earned Mr Mitchell $50,000 had he appeared, he told the court.

“As a business decision, (the organiser explained he) felt he needed to cancel our agreement and the specific reason was the negativity surrounding me about the jobst allegations,” Mr Mitchell said.

He said people continue to ask him about the allegations whenever he does interviews or meets fans, which “brings back” the anxiety he felt when the video was published.

Mr Mitchell said he lived in “absolute terror” because he felt there was “absolutely nothing” he could do to stop Mr Jobst from publishing the allegations in the video.

The court was told Mr Mitchell had sought legal counsel in Australia about Mr Jobst video and that legal discussions were underway, but Mr Jobst would post those documents online for public viewing.

“It didn’t matter what happened, if he received a public rebuttal from us.... he just kept coming,” Mr Mitchell said.

Previously, Mr Mitchell claimed Mr Jobst had made several other damning allegations that the gamer had cheated to obtain his world records.

The court was told Mr Mitchell had lost several world records after an investigation by Guinness World Records and video game database Twin Galaxies – which officiates high scores for classic video games – revoked his titles.

He relying on a statutory defence of truth. Picture: Supplied YouTube

However, most of these had since been reinstated, the court was told.

Mr Somers said it wasn’t up to the presiding trial judge, Ken Barlow KC, to determine whether Mr Mitchell had cheated, as that was no longer part of the defamation case.

Mr Jobst is relying on a statutory defence of truth.

Mr Mitchell describes himself as a professional video games player and “movie personality”.

He’s expected to give evidence on Monday afternoon.