Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaPodcast couple wins defamation suit against rival over incest claimsThe couple was seeking $150,000 in damages, but the judge ordered Spencer Butts to pay about $40,000 in damages and court costsLast updated 40 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.The ruling noted that the original livestream in which Spencer Butts made the defamatory comments was only viewed by just over 100 people. Photo by Adobe StockA Hamilton, Ont., podcaster is liable for more than $40,000 in damages and legal costs after saying on a livestream that married rivals of his were biological siblings whose incestuous relationship caused their son’s autism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAs part of the ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice A.J. Goodman ordered Tuesday that political content creator Spencer Butts reimburse $20,000 in legal costs incurred by plaintiffs Ryan and Tanya Davies, the husband and wife co-hosts of the popular conservative podcast Northern Perspective.Butts, who represented himself in court, chose not to file any materials relating to the reimbursement, according to a filing obtained by National Post.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againGoodman found in late May that Butts made defamatory comments about the Davies during an April 17, 2025, livestream analyzing that evening’s federal election leaders’ debate. He awarded the couple $25,000 in damages.While giving “shout outs” to fellow conservative content creators during the broadcast, Butts said that the Davies “very well might be brother and sister, which would make another thing make sense, which would be way too mean of me to say but you can all infer.”The couple has a nine-year-old son who lives with autism and a global developmental delay, whose condition they’ve spoken about publicly. In 2023, they appeared on a local Hamilton TV news segment criticizing the Ford government over cuts to provincial autism funding.Goodman said in a 31-page decision that Butts crossed a legal line by saying the couple engaged in unlawful and highly taboo sexual activities.“Incest is a crime in Canada, and carries a high level of stigma,” wrote Goodman.Goodman also found Butts further defamed the Davies’ by saying their supposed blood relation would “make another thing make sense,” reasoning that their son’s condition was widely known in conservative influencer circles.The decision also noted that Butts repeatedly smeared the couple as “grifters,” “frauds” and “shills” without evidence, including in an April 6, 2025, social media post saying they “beg for money for a kid who doesn’t need it.”Butts told National Post in April 2026 that he didn’t know the Davies had an autistic son when he made the incest comments.He said Wednesday he plans to appeal the reimbursement order handed down in court.Butts first contacted the Davies in February 2025 to share a video he’d made purporting to expose voter fraud in Ontario’s provincial election. The couple say the conversation quickly soured when they told him his investigation seemed incomplete.He then said in the livestream, filmed two months later, that the couple was “clearly bought and paid for” by election officials.While the decision largely vindicated the Davies, it wasn’t a total slam dunk.The couple was seeking $150,000 in damages, but ended up getting a considerably smaller award of $25,000.Their original claim included $50,000 in damages for their son, which Goodman waived entirely.The decision noted the original stream was only viewed live by just over 100 people, adding that it didn’t have any measurable impact on the growth of Northern Perspective’s subscriber base.The Northern Perspective YouTube channel had approximately 154,000 subscribers in March 2025 and has more than 240,000 subscribers today.Goodman wrote there were substantially more people who heard the defamatory claims from the Davies’ decision to publicly comment on them, including on their podcast, than from Butts himself.James Kitchen, the couple’s lawyer, said that while he’s happy to have won the case, the judge’s reasoning sets a worrying precedent.“The judge really took a strong position on the issue of rebroadcasting. There’s this idea that, as soon as you mention the defamatory thing someone said about you, you somehow lessen it,” said Kitchen.“That puts people in a no-win situation because, if you want to refute the bad thing they said, you have to say what it was.”Kitchen said the fact the Davies have a much larger audience than Butts was irrelevant to the case.“Having the bigger platform shouldn’t mean they should have to sit there silently, letting this guy say these horrendous things about them, until they can finally get their day in court,” said Kitchen.Kitchen added that while he didn’t agree with every point in the decision, the case still showed there’s a viable process for dealing with bad behaviour on social media through the court system.“Our court system isn’t great, but it’s far superior to anything else we have to adjudicate disputes,” said Kitchen.Kitchen said he was skeptical of the federal Liberal government’s efforts to police so-called “online harms” by placing more government oversight on social media.The lawsuit created a noticeable rift among right-leaning content creators, with several prominent conservative influencers posting messages of support for Butts.Clyde Do Something, a Canadian conservative content creator who now lives in Texas, says that he’s worried about a rise in frivolous lawsuits over hurt feelings.“This could have a chilling effect on online discourse and open discussion – the very freedom of expression that many of these offended commentators claim to champion,” he said.He added that he’s been personally threatened with lawsuits over his digital content.Northern Perspective is well known among conservatives online. The program interviewed federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre last October. That appearance led to a headache for the leader when he said on the show that the leadership of the RCMP was “despicable” for the way it handled Liberal government scandals.National Post rmohamed@postmedia.comOur website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.