A viral claim suggesting that Kyle Rittenhouse and his mother have filed a $60 million defamation lawsuit against The View stars Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg is found to be fake. The rumor emerged from a satire article published on Potatriots Unite.
Rittenhouse had shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz during the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 25 last year. On Nov 19, the court acquitted him of all charges including homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangerment.
$60 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against Goldberg and Behar
The misleading article on Potatriots Unite was headlined, "Rittenhouses File $60M Defamation Suit Against Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldgerg". The article was filed under Weird Hero Fetish Satire segment of the site.
Claiming that Kyle and his mom have pulled the trigger on a lawsuit against The View's Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, the article said that the family's spokesman, Joe Barron, has issued a statement saying that the Rittenhouses expect a quick and large settlement: "The Rittenhouse family has been through hell at the hands of these evil Democrats. They were ripped apart on their partisan, biased opinion show and they will have retribution," the statement read as per the article.
"By our rules, once Kyle was free, everything he did was sanctioned by Jesus and precedent for all other kids who want to play soldier medic during dangerous social situations they should probably just stay out of. So now, Kyle gets to sue everyone," read the article further.
Earlier, while expressing her displeasure over Rittenhouse's acquittal, Goldberg a co-host of ABC's The View, had said, "He saw someone get shot. He thought he was doing the right thing. So, even – even all the excuses in the world does not change the fact that three people got shot. Two people were murdered. To me it's murder. I'm sorry."
Social Media Falls Prey to Fake Claim
Debunking the claim, Snopes, a fact-checking website claimed that is pure fiction which originated following the article published by a website which describes its as "parody, satire, and tomfoolery."
Despite the claim being fake, it was widely discussed among the netizens. "@WhoopiGoldberg @JoyVBehar are One of the most a dislikes people on daytime TV. Lawsuits are finally coming their way," tweeted a user.
"This should make some of you happy today. Kyle Rittenhouse has filed a $60 million defamation lawsuit against the View's Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg. Let the lawsuits begin," wrote another.
"Kyle Rittenhouse suing Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg for millions is the feel good story of the week," wrote a user.
