Woodhill Ventures, LLC v. Yang

Ben Yang (defendant), a self-proclaimed internet celebrity, ordered a birthday cake for his seven-year-old son from Big Sugar Bakeshop (BSB) (plaintiff), a small business in Los Angeles. The reference photo provided showed a science-themed cake topped with a tipped-over beaker, brightly colored pill-shaped candies, and science-themed decorations. After BSB delivered the cake, Yang called BSB to complain that the pill decorations on the cake, which were made of edible icing, were too realistic for a child’s birthday cake. It was disputed whether Yang ever told BSB the cake was for a child. BSB attempted to resolve the issue by baking and delivering a replacement cake. However, minutes after Yang called BSB to complain, Yang began posting complaints about BSB to his approximately 1.5 million Instagram followers. Yang also aired his grievances on his podcast. Because of Yang’s publicized complaints, BSB received negative reviews and violent threats from Yang’s followers. BSB notified Yang about the threats and negative reviews and requested that Yang retract or correct his complaints. Yang refused. BSB then filed a defamation action against Yang, alleging that Yang had made libelous and slanderous false statements against BSB. Yang moved to strike BSB’s complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP statute as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), arguing that his complaints against BSB involved the public interest. Specifically, Yang alleged that his complaints involved the public interest, a requirement for invoking an anti-SLAPP statute, because (1) the complaints addressed candy confusion, which was the known risk that children could confuse pills with candy, (2) Yang’s daily life was of widespread interest because he was an internet celebrity, and (3) BSB was a nationally recognized bakery. BSB challenged, arguing that the anti-SLAPP statute was inapplicable because BSB’s action against Yang was a purely private dispute. The trial court agreed and denied Yang’s motion to strike. Yang appealed.