YouTube influencer Ben Armstrong, better known by his pseudonym BitBoy, has conceded defeat in the defamation lawsuit filed against fellow YouTuber Atozy, aka Erling Mengshoel.
The concession came on Wednesday during a BitBoy Crypto live stream.
Armstrong’s lawsuit had alleged that an Atozy video from Nov 2021, “This Youtuber Scams His Fans… BitBoy Crypto,” had called into question his “honesty, credibility, and reliability.”
According to the suit, Atozy’s video, in which he referred to Armstrong as a “shady dirtbag” among other epithets, caused significant damage to Armstrong’s business.
The influencer had furthermore been left in a “fragile” emotional state suffering from “severe anxiety” and “bouts of depression,” which prompted him to seek financial recompense in excess of $75,000.
On Wednesday, Armstrong, who appeared to have emotionally recovered from the ordeal, took to YouTube to declare he was dropping the case.
“Atozy you’ve won,” declared Armstrong.
A community backlash
According to Armstrong, his reason for filing the suit was never to extract money from Mengshoel, but instead to force him to take the video down. That plan backfired.
Rather than force Mengshoel to back down as intended, Armstrong’s tactics galvanized the crypto community to rise up, en masse, against him. Crypto influencer Cobie was among those who offered his assistance, stumping up $100,000 to help Atozy fight the case.
With Mengshoel raising as much, or more, from the wider crypto community, and with public opinion turning against Armstrong, it was clear the objectives of the lawsuit could not be met.
Armstrong then went on to say that if he had known the lawsuit would become public, he would never have filed it.
“So we are gonna drop the lawsuit, 100%, and I’m sorry this became public,” said Armstrong. “I’m sorry that this has been misconstrued, but I just want you guys to understand why I was doing this. This was not about a slapstick lawsuit.”
While there is no such thing as a “slapstick lawsuit,” at least not in legal parlance, it is likely that Armstrong was referring to SLAPP lawsuit or Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
A SLAPP lawsuit is a legal case which is filed to censor, intimidate, and silence a critic by burdening them with a costly legal defense they are unable to pay for.
With Mengshoel demonstrably and suddenly able to pay for his legal defense, and with Armstrong immediately dropping the case, Armstrong understandably felt the need to clarify this very important point.
Clearing the BitBoy name
Armstrong now aims to do the important work of cleaning up his tarnished image, which has taken a considerable beating since the lawsuit became public.
“I do believe I am probably the most misunderstood person in all of crypto,” said Armstrong.
Regarding the project which started the furor – Pamp – Armstrong says the smart contracts were changed after his review and promotion. He says the group behind the project changed the code and lied to him.
“The very next day after the rug pull, I think it was maybe Nov 16, something like that, the very next day I made a video with a full statement on the situation, why this is bad, why we were sorry,” says Armstrong. “I didn’t technically say I was sorry, but it was basically an apology,” he added.
BitBoy trusted lawyers for gauging emotional state
Regarding his fragile emotional state as cited in the suit, Armstrong explained that he signed off on those claims because he trusted in his legal team’s ability to properly gauge what emotional state he should be in at the time of filing the lawsuit.
“They’re looking at the statement with the language by the lawyers, and by the way, that’s the way you write lawsuits. That’s the way, the wording, the language, the emotional appeal, that’s the way they’re written guys. And yes, I did sign off on it, but I trust my lawyers to do a good job.”
Lastly, BitBoy pointed out that at no stage had Atozy ever really properly spoken to him about the whole thing.
“At no time in this entire situation has Atozy ever reached out to me, has he ever asked a question. I was never given a chance to tell my side of the story,” said Armstrong.
Perhaps part of the reason that Mengshoel never reached out to Armstrong is because he believes, as he repeatedly stated, that Armstrong is a “dirtbag.”
Mengshoel is now awaiting official confirmation from his lawyer that the legal case has been pulled before refunding contributors. Armstrong has suggested that Cobie should donate his $100,000 pledge to charity.