Netflix Slapped with $50M Class-Action Lawsuit as Paul vs. Tyson Disaster Gets Worse

If you didn’t get to see the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout on Netflix due to streaming issues, rest assured you didn’t miss much.

However, you could still be getting something: namely, some money in a class-action lawsuit.

According to Variety, at least one Netflix subscriber is willing to take the streaming giant to court over its inability to handle the technical loads placed on its systems for those wanting to watch a ring legend pushing 60 fight a much younger social media star-turned-fighter — who isn’t particularly great at the sweet science, but draws considerable viewership because pretty much everyone wants to see him knocked hellaciously unconscious in a way that’s still totally legal.

After the fight was delayed due to Tyson’s health issues — he had an ulcer flare up during training for the original July 20 bout date — the two finally got down to business this weekend. What most people saw was this:

WARNING: The following videos contain graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.

Seriously @netflix should be embarrassed right now. As soon as people actually want to use their service, THIS IS WHAT WE GET. pic.twitter.com/cVoKkRd5aX

— The Older Millennial (@teameffujoe) November 16, 2024

Things are going bad to worse. #netflix #tysonpaul pic.twitter.com/sjJutpr1Zq

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 16, 2024

It’s all fun and games tonight @netflix, but if you ruin my family’s Christmas because we can’t watch the Steelers… there will be real hell to pay pic.twitter.com/wKAlwY3uJQ

— Tone Digs (@ToneDigz) November 16, 2024

Now again, to be fair, you didn’t miss much. These were the two minutes of highlights assembled by ESPN:

Again: Not just a random sample of the seven-round bout, but the parts America’s premier sports outlet felt you needed to see to gain a reasonable understanding of what transpired. In other words, this was basically the squared circle’s equivalent of a flag football game between the living members of the 1967 Houston Oilers squad and the current Barstool Sports rec league team.

But people didn’t get to see this masterpiece of pugilistic excellence — which means, naturally, lawyers are getting involved.

“Ronald ‘Blue’ Denton, a resident of Hillsborough County, Fla., who says he is a Netflix subscriber, sued the company in Florida state court,” Variety reported.

“The lawsuit, filed Monday, seeks unspecified monetary damages and class-action status on behalf of other consumers who were affected.”

According to WFLA-TV, Mr. “Blue” (I’m not sure why his nickname worked its way into the lawsuit; perhaps he really likes that pro-tipping “Reservoir Dogs” character) cited the fact that there were “over 100,000 people complaining online” in his lawsuit over the “unwatchable” livestream.

“60 million Americans were hyped to see ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ versus YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul. What they saw was ‘The Baddest Streaming on the Planet’,” the lawsuit read.

Please do check the URL bar. This isn’t the Babylon Bee. This is a real thing.

The lawsuit went on to claim that “boxing fans, along with the average Americans wanting to see a legend in what would most likely be his last fight, were faced with legendary problems, including: no access, streaming glitches and buffering issues,” adding that they “did not get what they bargained for as they missed large portions of the fight[s], if not the fight altogether.”

WFLA’s parent company, Nextstar, reached out to Netflix, who said they had “nothing to comment on at this time.”

However, as TMZ pointed out, the company did issue a statement after the fight expressing sympathies for those who might have had streaming issues.

“We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members,” a Netflix spokesperson said, “and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success.”

At the very least, they missed what might as well have been a fight between an animatronic Joe Frasier and a drunk kangaroo. In fact, that would have been more entertaining. It’s worth noting, however, that Netflix plans to stream a slate NFL games for Christmas Day.

If Ronald “Blue” Denton and whatever class action he drags along with him — which may include Dave Portnoy, from the sound of social media — are this angry about a silly fight, just wait until the hue and cry over buffering NFL gmaes.

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