Frogan says she still owes $73K after Ethan Klein dropped his lawsuit
The case ended with no ruling on fair use and can still be refiled, but she says the legal bill topped $100K and is asking fans to chip in.
The tea in 3
- Frogan said on X she still owes $73K in legal fees, after the case cost her "well over $100K."
- Ethan Klein voluntarily dropped his copyright suit without prejudice, so it could be refiled; no judge ruled on fair use.
- She is asking fans to donate to cover the bill; Klein has not publicly responded to the request.
Streamer Frogan says she still owes $73,000 in legal fees even though Ethan Klein dropped his copyright lawsuit against her. In a post on X, reported Oct 24 by AOL, she said the fight cost “well over $100K” and asked fans to help cover the rest.
The case ended without a verdict. That is the whole point of her post: a lawsuit can be over and still be very expensive.
What she posted
I still owe $73K after it costing well over $100K.— Frogan, on X, per AOL, Oct 24
Please donate to help cover my legal fees, so that I do not have to think about Ethan ever again.— Frogan, on X, per AOL, Oct 24
According to AOL’s write-up, she said Klein voluntarily dropped the suit after more than a year, and that it was dismissed without prejudice. She also said she still believes her stream counted as fair use and thanked people who defended her.
“Without prejudice,” explained
In plain English: Klein pulled the case himself, so no judge ever decided whether Frogan’s use of his video was infringement or fair use. Spilled notes there was no trial, no verdict and no ruling.
It also means the case could technically be filed again. Spilled says there is no indication Klein plans to, and Klein has not said why he dropped it.
How the case got here
Spilled reports the suit centered on Klein’s “Content Nuke” video and how Frogan used it on stream. The two sides reportedly spent months in settlement talks. Frogan then missed the deadline to respond, and a default was entered with a $180,404 figure attached.
She then reportedly hired the lawyers who defended streamer Denims in a similar case Klein lost, and the default was set aside. Spilled adds that Klein was reportedly appealing the Denims outcome when the Frogan case was dismissed, and that it has not been confirmed whether that influenced his decision.
Winning, or never losing, does not refund your lawyers. Spilled notes that in US courts each side usually pays its own legal fees unless a judge decides otherwise, and copyright law lets courts award fees only at their discretion. There is no confirmation that Frogan will seek any.
Where it stands
The lawsuit is closed for now. Frogan’s bill, by her own account, is not. Klein has not publicly responded to her donation request, and the amounts come from Frogan’s own statements.
The fair-use question that started the case stays unanswered. Spilled points out that Klein himself won a landmark fair-use case in 2017 over a reaction video, which is why this one drew so much attention from commentary creators.
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