Former Kotaku Editor Alyssa Mercante’s Social Media Content Vanishing Ahead of Smash JT Lawsuit

Full disclosure: YouTube personality Smash JT is represented in this case against Alyssa Mercante by Ron Coleman and the Dhillon Law Firm, whose lead attorney is nominated for Assistant Attorney General of the United States. That Park Place, WDW Pro and Valliant Renegade are likewise legally represented by Mr. Coleman. Furthermore, That Park Place is a subsidiary of a company which has provided monetary donation toward The Dhillon Law Group.

Former Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante has reportedly been removing a large number of her past tweets, according to analytics provided by Social Blade. This development, which surfaced shortly after she filed a defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Smash JT, has raised eyebrows throughout the gaming community.

The initial discovery of this extensive digital purge is credited to content creator Hypnotic, who first brought attention to it on the show Saturday Night Hypnosis.

READ: Alyssa Mercante Caught in Conflicts of Truth as Gaming Community Rallies Around YouTuber Smash JT

The timing of Mercante’s mass deletion of tweets appears suspicious in light of her legal action against Smash JT. The lawsuit, which focuses heavily on defamation claims, has drawn scrutiny to her online behavior and past statements. Many observers now question whether the removal of so many tweets, some of which reportedly contained controversial remarks, might undermine the credibility of her claims.

For some time, various YouTubers, including Smash JT, have criticized Mercante’s behavior, as well as her contributions to the gaming industry in light of statements Mercante herself has made. Many of these are the statements which are currently vanishing from cyber space. 

Critics claim that her deleted tweets included references to contacting Smash JT’s wife in an attempt to disrupt their marriage. Other tweets, now removed, reportedly contained statements implying admission that she entered the gaming industry by “sucking d***.” 

Additionally, she’s publicly admitted to past work in lewd entertainment.

Mercante’s subsequent decision to remove these tweets raises questions as to whether she is trying to erase evidence potentially relevant to her ongoing lawsuit.

Legal experts have pointed out that deleting tweets during active litigation may have serious ramifications.

People are asking me about what happens when a litigant destroys social media evidence

and, yes, it’s what you’d thinkhttps://t.co/JOmqKaJhlK

— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) December 15, 2024

READ: Alyssa Mercante Sues Smash JT: YouTuber Alleges Doxing and Family Endangerment

On a recent livestream by Valliant Renegade, Smash JT’s attorney Ron Coleman stated that removing potentially incriminating evidence could be viewed as obstruction of justice. Should any of the deleted tweets have relevance to the defamation case, such actions may complicate legal proceedings and possibly expose Mercante to further legal consequences.

“The continued reckless behavior from Mercante suggests to everyone that she has either a massive lack of understanding of legal processes,” Smash JT said in his official write up on these events. “Or, more likely… this is a desperate attempt to cover up incriminating material.”

The controversy surrounding Mercante’s deletions is not an isolated incident. According to an examination of Social Blade pages on Saturday Night Hypnosis, other figures within the gaming and media circles—such as Kim Belair, CEO of Sweet Baby Inc.; Ash Parrish of The Verge; and the organization Black Girl Gamers—have also been observed mass-deleting tweets.

In some cases, these accounts reportedly removed hundreds of posts in a single day.

A report from Social Blade that shows Alyssa Mercante deleting tweets – YouTube, Hypnotic

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All of these actions have reportedly taken place around the time Mercante’s lawsuit was filed, causing further speculation. 

“These above mentioned accounts have been known to operate within the same clique, often supporting each other over the past year in any public-facing narratives,” Smash JT said. “The synchronized nature of all these deletions raises eyebrows: what exactly are they trying to hide? Is this an orchestrated effort to shield themselves from scrutiny, or a response to potential legal challenges on the horizon? I’m no judge, but it sure seems likely.”

JT noted that this situation highlights a broader issue within the gaming industry: the problem of accountability among prominent figures.

“When public personalities make controversial statements and then later attempt to erase them without taking responsibility, it fosters a growing mistrust and damages the credibility of the industry as a whole,” he said. “This is exactly what we are fighting against.”

Alyssa isn’t the one deleting tweets guys!

It’s other people deleting their accounts which makes her tweets disappear too 😂 pic.twitter.com/1fWPZf7OWt

— MasteroftheTDS (@MasteroftheTDS) December 18, 2024

Mercante attempted to justify the vanishing tweets by claiming that it’s actually other people deleting tweets which somehow make her tweets disappear also…

“Interesting that these idiots can’t tell the difference between someone removing or deleting their own tweets and other people deleting their accounts and taking their tweets I’ve RT’ed with them,” she said in a post on X. Many of the now vanished tweets that Smash JT highlighted didn’t feature any retweets, so it’s unclear what Mercante was referring to here. 

Do you think Alyssa Mercante was trying to cover herself legally by deleting old tweets? What do you make of Kim Belair and others deleting tweets at the same time? Sound off in the comments and let us know! 

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