In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., popular Twitch streamer Hasan Piker accuses conservative commentator Scott Jennings of deliberately twisting his words into a false accusation that he wants to bring back lynchings.
Getty Images- Hasan Piker
According to the complaint, the dispute began with a October 2024 livestream in which Piker sarcastically mocked a conservative commentator’s views on crime and “woke” prosecutors. Laughing, he put exaggerated words in the other man’s mouth—suggesting things like bringing back the Ku Klux Klan and a “better time when lynchings were happening.” Context, audience reactions, and the visible debate on screen made clear it was mockery, not endorsement.
Nearly two years later, in August 2026, a 42-second edited clip of that moment began circulating online. The edit cropped out the sarcasm, removed the laughter and surrounding context, rearranged fragments, and presented the words as if they were Piker’s own sincere beliefs.
Getty Images- Scott Jennings
Jennings then aired the clip on his nationally distributed radio show and podcast, The Scott Jennings Show. He added a caption that read “PIKER: ‘LET’S GO BACK TO A BETTER TIME WHEN LYNCHINGS WERE HAPPENING,’” attributed it to Piker’s channel, and told listeners that Piker had called for Black voters to be lynched and had a “plan of returning our country to lynchings.” He repeated the claims on X, Instagram, and Facebook, where they drew millions of views. He specifically warned Black listeners about Piker.
Piker says Jennings knew—or recklessly ignored—that the clip was false. He notes that Jennings did not pull the video from the original stream, added fabricated framing, and never corrected the record even after fact-checker Snopes labeled the edit misleading and after Piker’s lawyers demanded a retraction. The complaint alleges Jennings was motivated by audience growth, advertising revenue, and political ambitions.
Piker claims the false statements damaged his reputation, cost him viewers and sponsorships, and caused emotional distress. He is suing for defamation, defamation by implication, and false light, seeking at least $27.5 million in compensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages.
Jennings has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.
