It's not surprising if a person doesn't get on with their in-laws - as if if movies have taught us anything they can be absolute monsters - but one content creator took things a bit too far.
The 29-year-old YouTuber, Dalas Review, whose legal name is Daniel Santomé, was sued after he took to his platform following his breakup with ex-partner, Maria Rubio, to talk about her dad to his 10.9 million subscribers.
The Spanish YouTuber has been made to read his defamation sentence on his channel every week for a month after insulting his ex-girlfriend’s dad.
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Dalas Review also owes the father $13,000 (£10,500), after calling him an abuser who hits 'defenceless women'.
Santomé had taken aim at Rubio's father following their breakup, calling him an 'abuser,' an 'aggressor that's full of sh**', and a 'sick coward who’s messed up in the head.'
He also stated that Rubio’s father 'likes to hit defenceless women on the street', as well as his own daughter.
In total, Santomé published nine videos insulting Rubio’s father, whose name has not been revealed.
During a court hearing, Santomé argued that his comments were protected by freedom of speech. This was not upheld by the court.
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The judge stated that, because Santomé had 'social relevance' and was followed by 'thousands of adolescents', his insults take on a degree of importance.
They also disagreed that the YouTuber’s comments were protected by freedom of speech.
“[It’s] hard to believe that anyone with an average level of intelligence could think that by using freedom of speech as an excuse they could say all of these insults, which are recognised as insults by the RAE [Royal Spanish Academy, the language’s governing body], freely on social media and believe that the target won’t feel attacked and that the system won’t respond.” the judge wrote.
As part of the judge's sentence, Santomé has been ordered to delete the videos in which he insulted his ex-girlfriend’s father and pay him $13,000.
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And, in the oddest sentencing I've come across, he has also been instructed to post weekly videos to YouTube, during the month of June 2023, denouncing the statements he'd previously made on his channel.
Following the sentencing, the YouTuber accused Rubio, also a YouTuber, and her father, of exploiting the case for attention and called the sentence an 'injustice.'
He also said he would appeal the ruling and asked his fans for help paying his legal costs.
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It must be noted that this is not the first time Santomé has faced legal troubles. In 2018, he was acquitted over claims he sexually abused a fan who was a minor over lack of evidence.
On the other hand, Rubio, who streams under the name, Miare’s Project, celebrated the judge’s sentence.
“We won another one,” she wrote on Twitter. “To all the creators who have received insults and been harassed by this person or other toxic people, I want to say: It’s time to stop putting your head down and being scared of them, damn it. Be brave like my family has been. And you’re welcome for paving the way.”
Topics: YouTube, Social Media, Money