The best Twitch stars xQc, Hasan and MoistCr1TiKaL were mentioned in a counterclaim against the owners of the NFT yacht club Bored Ape Yuga Labs as part of protection from a copyright infringement lawsuit related to a specific RR/BAYC protest.
Some of Twitch’s biggest names have been embroiled in a major lawsuit between the owner of the NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and two people who started a protest “mint” to highlight alleged links between the project and the “subversive culture of Nazi trolls on the Internet.”
On June 24, Yuga Labs sued Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Kaen for false advertising, trademark infringement, and more.
While the judge almost completely dismissed the defendant’s initial claim, putting forward ten reasons for the lawsuit in favor of Yuga Labs, the duo’s counterclaim attracted the attention of leading Twitch streamers.
Among them are Felix “xQc” Lengyel, Hassan “HasanAbi” Pyker and Charles
“MoistCr1TiKaL” White. The trio, among other leading content creators, were not named as parties in the lawsuit, but rather mentioned in the defense.
Streamers/YouTubers also critical of Yuga who are named in our counter filing: @thirdeyeoftruth, @xQc, @h3h3productions, @MoistCr1TiKaL, @VaushV and @hasanthehun.
read it in full here :https://t.co/FOQOnTnVhi pic.twitter.com/e13LiWHyx9
— PAULY (@Pauly0x) December 28, 2022
He built a narrative around the growing protest against the NFT and, in particular, BAYC, noting that the stars played a crucial role in the development of the #BURNBAYC movement.
“Social media influencers and celebrities on YouTube used the hashtag #BURNBAYC, which became popular the same week the RR/BAYC collection was sold out,” the lawsuit says. “The question of whether BAYC is racist has become a ‘viral discussion’ and mainstream newspapers have reported that #BURNBAYC is a ‘storm of public opinion’ and ‘too big to ignore’.
However, the mention stunned those named: “What’s going on?” Hasan asked live. “Will I go to court? What the fuck?”
Ripps, on his website selling RR/BAYC tokens, stated that “over months of intensive research, I and other members of the community have discovered extensive links between BAYC and the subversive culture of Nazi trolls on the Internet.”
This prompted him to start the RR/BAYC project, in which “the original BAYC images are recontextualized — illuminating the truth about their origin and meaning, as well as the nature of Web3 — the ability of NFT to change meaning, establish origin and avoid censorship.
“RR/BAYC uses satire and appropriation to protest and inform people about The Bored Ape Yacht Club and the NFT structure. The work is a continuation and in the spirit of other artists who have worked in the field of appropriation art.”
The new counterclaim rejects the claims of Yuga Labs, and also demands damages due to emotional stress. Whether Twitch stars will be brought to court remains to be seen.
