An Australian billionaire and politician is demanding $500,000 from a YouTube creator and threatening to sue for calling him a 'dense Humpty Dumpty'
- Australian billionaire and political donor Clive Palmer is threatening a defamation lawsuit against the YouTube channel Friendly Jordies and its main star, Jordan Shanks.
- The letter claims Shanks defamed Palmer by calling him, "Fatty McF---head" and "dense Humpty Dumpty."
- A letter from Palmer's lawyer demands $500,000 in damages, legal costs, and that Shanks "make no further publication of and concerning" Palmer within 28 days.
- If those conditions aren't met, the letter says a defamation lawsuit will commence.
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Australian billionaire, political donor, and political party leader Clive Palmer is threatening to sue an Australian YouTuber over what he says are defamatory statements.
In statements made by YouTube creator Jordan Shanks on the channel Friendly Jordies, Shanks calls Palmer, "Fatty McF---head" and a "dense Humpty Dumpty."
Those statements, among others, are what Palmer says are "defamatory" statements.
In a letter sent by Australian law firm Alexander Law, Palmer demands an "offer to make amends" - a legal term in defamation cases that applies to a set of demands for settling a defamation suit.
In the case of Palmer's threat against Shanks, the demands are:
- $500,000, plus legal fees.
- That Shanks "make no further publication of and concerning" Clive Palmer.
If Shanks doesn't comply within 28 days, the letter says, Palmer's lawyers will commence with a defamation lawsuit.
Based on the video Shanks released about the letter from Palmer's lawyers, it doesn't sound like the firm will have to wait the 28 days. "I'm not gonna capitulate to you, you fat toad," Shanks says in the video. "In short, see you in court tub tub."
In the video, released on Sunday, Shanks goes through the letter from Palmer's lawyers and breaks down why he's willing to fight the billionaire.
He even went as far as to release themed shirts based on the legal threat:
It is unclear if Palmer will proceed with the lawsuit, and Alexander Law didn't respond to a request for comment as of publishing.
Either way, it doesn't sound like Shanks is too worried about potentially losing the case.
"In Clive's attempt to pervert the law, he made one tiny miscalculation," Shanks says in the video released on Sunday, "I'm a millennial. Going bankrupt doesn't scare me. I don't have a house."