Alyssa Mercante Officially Files Lawsuit Against Smash JT: A Calculated Dangerous Doxing Attack

Alyssa Mercante, former "Senior Editor" at Kotaku, has decided to escalate her long-standing feud with content creators covering the video game industry by now officially filing a lawsuit against me in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The lawsuit, which spans 54 pages, accuses me of... ahem... stochastic terrorism, defamation, bias-related violence or intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference. But let’s be clear with what's really going on here: The heart of this issue isn’t just the frivolous nature of a lawsuit but in reality, how Mercante has found a way to weaponize it and to legally dox me, putting me and my entire family’s safety at risk.

While Mercante made sure to redact her own address from the public filing—citing her concern for personal safety—she apparently had no issue sharing the lawsuit on her social media accounts, where she routinely stirs up plenty of hatred and animosity against me. By doing so, she broadcasted my private information to her thousands of followers, many of whom have consistently been openly hostile toward me.

This reckless and honestly abhorrent act has now put my family directly in harm’s way, as she has encouraged others to target me in real life. For someone who claims to fear for her own safety, this is some pretty strong hypocrisy at its finest. Not that I'd come to expect anything less from her.

The lawsuit itself is a blatant attempt to silence my work covering the gaming industry and a clear scream of jealousy over my success in my coverage of it. Among her claims, Mercante alleges I defamed her by stating she "sucks d***s for money," accusing me of making "factually false statements" with "actual malice." Her lawyers argue that this statement constitutes defamation per se under New York law, as it impugns her chastity and implies criminal activity. They also attribute her alleged damages—including harm to her professional reputation, loss of economic opportunities, and mental anguish—to my coverage... Umm.. Alyssa, last time I checked, this was from YOUR Twitter account:

Her unhinged accusations don’t stop there. Mercante claims I intentionally inflicted emotional distress by creating a “firestorm” of online attention that she says has resulted in daily harassment. She even alleges that I targeted her based on her race, gender, age, and sexual orientation. The lawsuit also asserts that I engaged in tortious interference with her employment, claiming my commentary and promotion of others’ critiques had now somehow directly led to her job loss and contract buyout.

But the most ludicrous charge is the accusation of "stochastic terrorism," a term her legal team appears to be using to start some sort of new legal grounds. They are trying to argue that I "stoked harassment" among my followers with the intent to harm Mercante’s life and livelihood. This claim is as baseless as it is inflammatory, stretching the definition of liability to absurd extremes.

Let’s not mince words: this lawsuit is a desperate and vindictive move by Mercante to silence criticism and intimidate me into submission. Also to try to hurt me and my family in any way she can because she is and always has been, in my humble opinion, a complete failure at life. It’s completely frivolous, time-wasting, and ultimately self-defeating. But the real cost here isn’t just the legal battle; it’s the danger she’s deliberately placed on my family. By publicizing this lawsuit, she’s made a calculated decision to expose me to risk while hiding behind the guise of victimhood.

Adding insult to injury, I now face the financial burden of defending myself. Unfortunately, funds from the GoFundMe I had previously informed you guys that would be going to cancer research will now instead have to be redirected to cover legal expenses. This is honestly a heartbreaking diversion of resources that could have gone to an actual worthy cause, all because she has no idea how to take an L in life. It genuinely sucks.

I’m scheduled to meet with my lawyer, Ron Coleman, tomorrow to strategize our next steps. Coleman, known for his expertise in First Amendment and defamation cases, has assured me that we have a very strong defense against these baseless claims. Again I'm not worried at all about the lawsuit. It's the doxing part that is really messed up in all this. The ordeal itself is a chaotic reminder of how easily the legal system can be weaponized by those seeking to silence any dissent.

Moving forward with this lawsuit isn’t just an attack on me; it’s an attack on anyone who dares to speak out against the entrenched narratives in the gaming industry. It’s a chilling precedent that should concern ALL journalists, creators, and commentators alike. I won’t back down, and I urge you guys to please stand with me as we fight this battle together - not just for my sake, but for the principle of free expression for everyone.

In my initial response to the lawsuit - before reading through it and learning about the dox, I posted on X, “You are as annoying as you are irrelevant.” This sentiment really does capture the absurdity of the entire situation.

Mercante’s actions are a transparently weak attempt to silence actual criticism while trying to paint herself as the victim. But the truth is out there, and I’ll continue to fight to make sure it’s heard.

~Smash