Two Utah residents have filed a defamation lawsuit against “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and Fox News Network over comments he made on national television and social media following the approval of his controversial AI data center in Box Elder County
Gabi Finlayson, political strategist and founder of Elevate Strategies, and Josh Kanter, nonprofit founder of Alliance for a Better Utah, filed the lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday, claiming O’Leary’s comments sparked online harassment and conspiracy theories that damaged their reputations and businesses, including false claims that they were working for the Chinese Communist Party, per a press release obtained by the Deseret News
In May, O’Leary told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that he believed China was fueling the pushback against his data center proposal.
“At the end of the day, who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Who would want to stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? There’s only one. It’s China,” he said.
He then proceeded to call out Finalyson and Kanter by name, followed by, “What are you doing? And why? Who’s paying you? … These are proxies for the Chinese government. … And if they’re not, because I want them to be able to defend their name, Taylor (Knuth), Josh, and Gabi, come out, come out wherever you are. Let’s audit your books and let’s show the people of Utah you actually care about them.”
In the press release, Finlayson and Kanter’s legal counsel accused O’Leary of creating a “week-long smear campaign” against their clients.
“Our clients were exercising their right to express their opinions about the future of their community,” attorney Matthew J. Platkin said via press release. “Rather than respond to their concerns, Kevin O’Leary chose to launch a national smear campaign built on absurd falsehoods that Fox News repeatedly affirmed and amplified.”
According to the press release, O’Leary posted on X only after receiving a legal demand from the plaintiffs, stating that he had no evidence to support his claims that they were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.
O’Leary’s attorney said his client would bring forth counterclaims to the lawsuit when appropriate.
“(O’Leary) clarified his remarks weeks ago and invited these organizations and individuals to sit down with him and discuss the project directly. They declined. Offered dialogue, they chose a courtroom — because this was never about reputation,” attorney Jeffrey Neiman said in a statement obtained by the Deseret News. “It is a cash grab, and the second one: within days of the statements at issue, the plaintiffs were fundraising off of them.”
He continued, “By way of background, who organizes and funds coordinated opposition to American AI infrastructure is a matter of serious national concern. Sen. Tom Cotton has asked the Department of Justice to investigate foreign influence efforts targeting U.S. data centers, including the network funded by Neville Roy Singham.”
Fox News Media said in a statement that it intends to vigorously defend against the lawsuit, arguing that it “publicly corrected the record on every program where on-air guest Kevin O’Leary’s comments were made, all of which was extensively publicized.”
The complaint is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for O’Leary’s actions.