Are Content Creator Lawsuits Becoming More Common?

As the creator economy matures and content creators assert their influence in everyday life, are content creator lawsuits becoming more common? A growing number of creators have found themselves on multiple sides of the legal world for myriad reasons.

We've Come A Long Way, Baby

The creator economy and content creation in general are in an interesting place. By all accounts, digital content creation as a career is here to stay. And the value of online content has only grown, bringing along with it an entire ecosystem of creators, analysts, specialists, platforms, and businesses honing in on serving this sector of the economy.

And yet...the creator economy is still a baby compared to the industries that most people work in. Things like healthcare, finance, legal, real estate, sales, customer support, service — these industries date back hundreds to thousands of years. And when you think about the entertainment and creative industries before, they were in many cases tied up in traditional institutions. Being a part of the television, film, music, or publishing industries required entrenching yourself inside existing industries like real estate and advertising. 

And before that, many great artists and writers were really only able to do what they did because they had patrons — wealthy people who subsidized an artist because they believed the world was better with that person's creations in it. 

So now the notion of any one individual building an entire career off the back of creating content, owning IP, and existing in a digital space is really quite amazing when you think about it. But as new as this industry still is, it's certainly big enough to now enjoy all the tangential "benefits" of becoming a bigger fish in the pond. 

One of those, *ahem*, benefits? Lawsuits.

Content Creator Lawsuits On The Rise

One story that has gripped both social media and the traditional film industry over the last year or so is the ongoing legal battle involving actors/producers Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, stemming from their time together on the film It Ends With Us. 

That particularly messy saga is ongoing, with a trial date set for March 9th, 2026. And now, according to Us Weekly, several content creators who covered and opined on the case find themselves in the crosshairs. YouTuber Kassidy O'Connell, whose channel sits at under 20,000 subscribers as of publishing, says she's been subpoenaed by Blake Lively as part of the lawsuit. 

On her channel, O'Connell has been critical of Lively. Kassidy says the subpoena are "unduly burdensome" and meant to intimidate. "There is no evidence or sound legal basis whatsoever to have issued this subpoena in the first place," O'Connell writes to the judge presiding over the case. 

Baldoni's team also revealed a series of alleged subpoenas sent to content creators from Lively's team, including one to YouTuber McKenzie Folks asking for financial information. These various creators find themselves in the company of other media personalities who have received subpoenas, including right wing figurehead Candace Owens and pop culture gossip king Perez Hilton. (Not for nothing, the controversial Owens is also being sued by...*checks notes*...the president of France). 

Lively's team says the subpoenas aren't an accusation of wrongdoing, but rather an attempt to gather any and all information related to the lawsuit. And that is, at its core, what a subpoena is. But it also results in a loss of time and money for the affected parties and can sometimes be used as an intimidation tactic that, at the very least, requires the subpoenaed individual to respond and request the judge toss the subpoena request, lest you be subject to court orders or penalties. 

At any rate, this lawsuit between two "traditional" creators is now ensnaring many other content creators, some of whom previously may have considered their reach too "small" to be of interest. 

Popular Creators Facing Heat From Companies

Content creators aren't just getting roped into lawsuits they make content about, though. Some are getting roped into lawsuits because of the content they make. Take, for instance, a lawsuit against the TikTok account Sylvanian Drama by Japanese company Epoch.

That lawsuit alleges Irish content creator Thea Von Engelbrechten, who made content for the account, committed copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition by using Epoch's products in her videos. Essentially, the Sylvanian Drama account featured Epoch's Calico Critters dolls in skits that gave them melodramatic and sometimes mature themes and backstories. 

Engelbrechten began making the videos in 2021 as a 19-year-old college student in Dublin. They eventually blew up in popularity, leading her account to garner more than 2.5 million followers and helping her strike brand deals with brands like Sephora, Kate Spade, Taco Bell, and even the Netflix show Squid Game. 

Epoch says it tried to resolve the issues with Engelbrechten before filing the lawsuit, which is now supposedly in settlement talks. 

And Then There Are The Content Creator Lawsuits Pitting Creators Against Other Individuals...

In some cases, legal action is happening between creators or creators and followers. One such lawsuit that made waves but was recently dropped involved influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford suing influencer Alyssa Sheil, alleging Sheil copied her content, down to getting similar tattoos. 

Gifford filed the lawsuit in April 2024 after she says attempts to mitigate the situation through email and cease-and-desist letters failed. She withdrew the lawsuit in May 2025, allegedly for no money and no concessions. Some have lauded the decision, saying Gifford's lawsuit would've set a dangerous precedent about the concept of inventorship in the online space. Sheil's attorney said “this is a huge win for content creators everywhere who shouldn’t have to fear about being bullied out of the industry by the threat of meritless lawsuits like this one."

Giffords attorneys, however, say the decision was based entirely on their client's changing priorities. "I have been working with Sydney since nearly the beginning of this case," attorney Kirsten Kumar said. "I know how strongly she feels about her claims and that the decision to stop litigating is not a reflection of their merit. But priorities can change: Since filing suit, she has gotten married, welcomed her first child and moved out of state."

At any rate, content creators won't have to worry about a potentially massive shift in the landscape based on the result of a lawsuit...for now. 

On the other side of the coin, some content creators are taking matters into their own hands to protect themselves from online trolls. Though not necessarily filing lawsuits against their audience, some are hiring private investigators and lawyers, while others are taking to the courts to stop harassment. 

And then there are even stranger lawsuits, including one from two men who allege they were misled by OnlyFans when they found out some content creators hire other people to answer their messages.  

One thing is for certain: now that the creator economy and content creators are playing in the big leagues with big money, there's no shortage of legal drama.