Hasan Piker Sues CNN’s Scott Jennings for $72.5 Million Over ‘False, Fabricated, and Manipulated’ Video
Hasan Piker Sues CNN’s Scott Jennings for $72.5 Million Over ‘False, Fabricated, and Manipulated’ Video
Kathryn WilkensWed, October 28, 2026 at 12:49 AM UTC
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Screenshots via Twitch and YouTube
Progressive streamer Hasan Piker filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN commentator Scott Jennings on Tuesday, accusing the conservative pundit of deliberately distorting his remarks to falsely portray him as a supporter of lynching Black Americans.
According to The Hill, Piker filed a 38-page complaint in federal court in Washington, D.C. The suit focuses on an August episode of Salem Media’s The Scott Jennings Show, during which Jennings played a video of the Twitch personality and accused him of “calling for Black voters to be lynched.”
In a social media post featuring the segment, Jennings mentioned Piker’s campaign stops with Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, writing, “Abdul El-Sayed’s best pal and campaign partner says the USA should resume lynchings against black people.”
He also described the remarks as “the Piker plan of returning our country to lynchings.”
“Mr. Jennings did not merely mischaracterize something Mr. Piker said,” the Tuesday lawsuit states. “He took a false, fabricated, and manipulated video of Mr. Piker, added a made-up quotation that Mr. Piker never uttered, and then made accusations that went beyond even what the manipulated footage purported to show.”
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The footage originated from an October 2024 livestream in which Piker reacted to a debate between two Black commentators. The streamer was mocking the conservative participant’s criticism of progressive prosecutors, his attorneys argue, rather than expressing support for racial violence.
“He said, ‘We need more Klansmen, okay? Can we go back to a better time when lynchings were happening?’” Piker said during the stream.
The lawsuit alleges that the version Jennings aired omitted Piker’s opening words, “He said,” along with additional context that made his sarcasm apparent. The streamer reshared the full footage after the Salem Media show first came out in a video titled, “I THINK IT’S TIME TO SUE.”
Piker’s attorneys alleged that Jennings ignored an earlier request for a retraction and that the accusations harmed the streamer’s reputation and jeopardized his streaming income and sponsorship opportunities.
Piker is seeking $72.5 million in damages, according to the lawsuit.
The post Hasan Piker Sues CNN’s Scott Jennings for $72.5 Million Over ‘False, Fabricated, and Manipulated’ Video first appeared on Mediaite.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
