Louder With Crowder LLC ( LWC) has filed a lawsuit against former employee Jared Mitello, also known as Jared Monroe or "Not Gay Jared," accusing him of engaging in an "extortion scheme" with Steven Crowder's ex-wife Hilary and her family.
Mitello has raised more than $72,000 in donations in just over a day after accusing his former employer of "legal abuse."
Despite the seemingly sudden conflict between him and Crowder, Mitello parted ways with LWC all the way back in August 2018. At that time, he had signed an agreement with the company that included a non-disparagement clause.
LWC's lawsuit, which only names Mitello, claims that this scheme began in 2022 when Steven's ex-wife, Hilary Crowder, plotted to "extort" him for "more [money] than Texas law would allow" in their pending divorce proceeding.
According to court filings obtained by SCNR, Steven has been ordered to pay Hilary $25,000 a month in support for the last two years. However, in a recent social media post seeking employment, she claimed she could no longer afford to be a stay-at-home mother. Seeking Opportunities đź‘€
Looking for work that is remote with flexibility. I am open to anything, particularly work that will allow for me to be present at home with the twins. Thank you in advance to anyone that’s willing to help me in this pursuit by sharing this post!
I look…
— Hilary Crowder (@hilcrowder) March 12, 2024
LWC's lawyers allege that in August 2022, Hilary messaged relatives and a lawyer saying it was time "this [the divorce] went public" and boasted that she held Steven's reputation in her hands.
The legal team claimed Hilary and her family "were optimistic that 'making things public' would create social pressure and optics that would cause LWC to force Mr. Crowder to settle in the Divorce Proceeding. Defendants then implemented their full-throated effort to engage in the negative media campaign to damage LWC."
In an email sent to family members on September 11, 2022, Hilary's father, Tim Korzon, had detailed the type of "team" he wants to build to help his daughter in the divorce — specifically, to "destabilize" his former son-in-law and father of his grandchildren.
"They understand right wing media," Korzon wrote of the ideal team member. "They are familiar with who Steven is and that world and the things that would destabilize him."
[caption id="attachment_1110784" align="alignnone" width="629"]
Message from Tim Korzon to a family group message.[/caption]
This person, he continued, will "fully understand and agree that Hilary's goals and expectations for the outcome of this divorce are reasonable and attainable," but noted that this was "not necessarily according to Texas family law precedent. BUT by employing a media/Brian Freedman and PR strategy that will significantly threaten his public persona and brand)."
Bryan Freedman is a high-end entertainment lawyer with an impressive client list that includes Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon, Vin Diesel, Gabrielle Union, Kate Beckinsale, Julia Roberts, Robert Downey Jr., Megyn Kelly, and Quentin Tarantino. He was also the lawyer involved in the Trevor Bauer scandal.
Freedman has a reputation for being very aggressive, particularly in the media, and securing multi-million dollar payouts for his clients. Hilary has retained Freedman as a "public relations consultant." As of November 2023, she had already paid him between $20,000 and $25,000, though he does not appear to have any family law experience.
On April 27, 2023, journalist Yashar Ali published an article detailing alleged instances of "emotional abuse" that Hilary was subjected to in the marriage. The article also included leaked home security footage depicting a portion of a marital dispute.
The footage and article sparked a massive backlash against Crowder and the company.
During a November 21, 2023, deposition, Hilary was asked about text messages sent by her father to the family group chat that read, "Developing damaging. Okay, PR asset should be pursued. That deliverable, it is up to us, not the legal team. And the right time Mark will show Steven Crowder the path to make it all go away."
When asked if the intent was to pursue a damaging PR strategy to "create a circumstance of leverage that her attorney could use" to "show Steven Crowder the path to make it all go away," Hilary claimed she could not speak to her father's messages.
[caption id="attachment_1110794" align="alignnone" width="477"]
Hilary Crowder's deposition[/caption]
During that November deposition, Hilary confirmed that she wanted to build the team described by her father in the group messages."I am saying that I want a team that understands right-wing media. They are familiar with who Steven is and the things that would destabilize him, and they are compassionate and creative. Yes. Steven is a media machine and a manipulative mastermind."
Hilary was asked to confirm if she wanted a "team" that would "destabilize" Steven, and she said "yes."
She was also asked about a message from her aunt to the group chat, which suggested, "We offer two options: A public story on overcoming marital conflict to a healthy divorce and co-parenting, or a public story to share what a narcissist spouse and parent is and how you have to expose their bad behavior and stand up for yourself, or you will be a victim for many years."
"In this text, you all were discussing, essentially, stories or two options that you would pitch to the media as possible public stories coming from Hilary Crowder, correct?" she was asked.
Hilary replied, "It doesn't sound like a story to pitch to the media."
The lawsuit alleges that despite not communicating with Hilary for nearly six years, Mitello "jumped at the opportunity to help her with the Extortion Scheme in violation of his Agreement."
According to the complaint, Mitello met with Hilary in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 2023. It is unclear who initiated the meeting.
On February 21, LWC's legal team claimed that Mitello messaged, saying, “I just don’t want [Steven Crowder] anywhere near those kids,” referring to Hilary and Steven's young twins.
"To further Defendant’s personal desire to keep Crowder away from his children, Defendant helped Hilary craft and further the Extortion Scheme by providing false and disparaging stories and closely held beliefs about Crowder and LWC," the lawsuit states.
Hilary also allegedly provided the disgruntled former employee with Steven's unpublished home address.
The lawsuit states, "Shortly after Defendant received Crowder’s personal address, Crowder received a threatening message."
The message, written on a potato, began with "Watch it. F-cking watch it." This is the same line that Steven used in the leaked home security footage.
"The threatening message originated from Smyrna, Georgia. Mere miles away from Defendant’s home," the complaint alleges. "More troubling is that the threatening message was sent to the only remaining residence that had not previously been doxed. Not only is this doxing incident a violation of the Agreement, but threatened Crowder’s personal home where the Crowders’ children resided part of the time."
Mitello allegedly violated their non-disparagement agreement multiple times, so LWC sent a cease-and-desist letter."LWC merely requested that Defendant provide written confirmation conveying his agreement to stop disparaging LWC. In exchange, LWC agreed to nonsuit the pending Rule 202 Petition and forgo any future litigation based on Defendant’s repeated breaches of the Agreement. LWC did not seek monetary compensation of any kind. Defendant did not respond."
LWC subsequently filed a Rule 202 Petition seeking Mitello's deposition and requested he produce documents relating to his alleged "repeated violations."
A Rule 202 petition is not a lawsuit but a means to gather information before one is filed.
The petition requested communications with Dave Landau, Hilary Crowder, Hilary's best friend Brittany White-Turner, several members of Hilary's family, Daily Wire founder Jeremy Boreing, employees and representatives of the Daily Wire, all current and former LWC employees, and several others.
As SCNR previously reported, on March 26, 2024, Mitello released a video claiming that he is “being legally abused and intimidated into silence by a former employer.” He claimed that he was “surprised” to receive the cease-and-desist letter and that it required him to “cease communication with his friends.” I didn’t want to do this… https://t.co/rUQKuY4ObD#FreeJaredMonroe #FreeSpeechMatters pic.twitter.com/QsdDjF5Rhm
— Jared Monroe (@TheJaredMonroe) March 26, 2024
"Free speech matters ... and these kinds of NDAs right here stemming from this are unquestionably unconstitutional," Mitello said in the video. "I will not live with the burden of this unconstitutional NDA over my head for the rest of my life. Especially when information I have can be used to aid other victims escape their own abusive situations, which is the context for which this former employer feels they 'caught me' breaking my agreement."
The former employee said he was subject to "months now of litigation," which the LWC contends is false."Defendant falsely states that 'after months now of litigation and exhausting even the court with relentless amendments to their Rule 202 Petition [LWC] was finally awarded their request.' This statement is blatantly false. First, a Rule 202 Petition is not litigation. Further, LWC filed only a Rule 202 Petition and its Amended Rule 202 Petition. The 'months of litigation' involved two brief hearings with the court, neither of which required Defendant’s appearance."
Mitello asserted that he was not complying and planned to fight back, asking supporters to donate to help him with legal fees. The lawsuit notes his intent not to comply with court orders.
LWC's lawsuit states that the company cannot "reasonably calculate the dollar value" of the damages caused by Mitello at this time but said it "exceeds $1,000,000."
