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Why The Ethan Klein Fair Use Lawsuits Are Way More Than Internet Beef

How an internet feud became a series of lawsuits about fair use and copyright infringement.
Morgan SungChris EgusaChris HambrickMaya Cueva
In the lower left corner, political Twitch streamer Denims is wearing a black and purple suit and gold plastic crown next to a mic. She overlaps a screenshot of content creator Ethan Klein’s YouTube video, where he is speaking into a mic while in a bedroom. Below the screenshot is a pink video progress bar, along with a glitchy white cursor to its lower right. The background of the image is a blue and orange gradient with small pink dots interspersed throughout. The text "Close All Tabs" appears in white text in the lower right corner.
An image of political streamer Denims wearing a crown laid over a screenshot of an Ethan Klein YouTube video, in the style of reaction content thumbnails. (Composite image by Morgan Sung; screenshots via YouTube)

View the full episode transcript.

When Twitch streamer Denims made a reaction video about Ethan Klein’s nearly two-hour takedown video of Hasan Piker, she wasn’t expecting to be sued for copyright infringement. She employed a commonly-used method of streaming the original video and interjecting with reactions, commentary and analysis. But Klein, who was once seen as a champion of fair use after he won a similar lawsuit in 2017, sued Denims and other content creators anyway. Morgan talks to Denims and journalist Kat Tenbarge about what made these cases different and how reaction content across the internet could change based on how the courts ultimately rule.

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Episode Transcript

A full transcript will be available 1–2 workdays after the episode’s publication.

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