Social media influencer Logan Paul has followed through on his long-standing threat to sue Coffezilla, accusing the popular YouTuber of making “malicious and repeated” false statements about Paul’s involvement in the failed blockchain game CryptoZoo.
In a complaint filed late Thursday in San Antonio federal court, Paul claimed that Stephen Findeisen, who goes by the name “Internet Detective” Coffezilla, had made defamatory public statements multiple times about Paul’s participation in CryptoZoo, all the while knowing they were untrue.
The 47-page lawsuit alleges that Findeisen possessed and selectively withheld a trove of text messages between Paul and the developers of CryptoZoo that demonstrated Paul’s genuine goodwill and concern for the game, which ultimately failed to deliver on its money-making promises and resulted in players losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Findeisen intentionally concealed all of this information from his audience, presenting cherry-picked information manipulated and deliberately presented without context,” the lawsuit states.
The forcefulness of the language may not be coincidental. Intent is a critical factor in defamation lawsuits involving public figures like Paul. Legal experts previously told Decrypt that Paul’s lawyers may have to prove that Findeisen’s actions were done with “actual malice,” demonstrating a “reckless disregard for the truth” when he made videos and tweets accusing Paul of dereliction in launching CryptoZoo.
Paul’s previous support for some of Findeisen’s statements about CryptoZoo could complicate matters. For example, Paul agreed with Findeisen’s assertion that Eddie Ibanez, one of the creators of CryptoZoo, is a “professional con artist.” In Thursday’s lawsuit, Paul’s lawyers referred to Ibanez as a “charlatan.”
In early 2023, Paul initially threatened to sue Findeisen for defamation, only to abruptly back down days later.
“The war with Coffee is over,” Paul said at the time, referring to Findeisen. “I will take responsibility, apologize, and come up with a plan in the near future.”
In yesterday’s lawsuit, Paul’s attorneys explained that Findeisen continued to make videos and tweets in 2023 and this year, accusing Paul of wrongdoing in creating and launching CryptoZoo, prompting his latest turn to litigation.
Findeisen has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, though the tweets and YouTube videos cited as defamatory in Paul’s lawsuit are still available online. Decrypt reached out to the content creator but did not immediately receive a response.
Paul is seeking an unspecified amount of damages exceeding $75,000 from Findeisen.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
