Super Seducer, a dating game hosted by pick-up artist Richard La Ruina, is coming under fire after its star filed a DMCA claim against a YouTube video criticizing the new release.
YouTuber IAmPattyJack, real name Chris, has a regular series he calls ‘…Is The Worst Game Ever,’ in which he discusses video games he’s recently played that he dislikes. According to the video maker, he was sent a review code for Super Seducer, and after playing the game it made its way into one of these features.
Shortly after uploading the video, Richard La Ruina personally commented beneath it in order to point out how a location that Chris referred to as a hotel was actually his bedroom. La Ruina also criticized Chris’s assertion that people should “just be yourself” when talking to women rather than follow the pick-up artist’s advice: “That’s a good one for all the virgin nerd shy guys who are not allowed to meet women in the street but hate bars or clubs,” the dating coach wrote.
According to Chris, La Ruina then tweeted him further criticisms of the video, calling it a “weak attempt” at criticism and that he should “learn how to make an entertaining video.” After Chris tweeted to his followers that La Ruina was pestering him for criticizing his game, the pick-up artist admitted that he was being “pretty silly,” adding: “Sorry for talking shit then.”
However, after another Twitter user mentioned DMCA notices, a tactic used by some to silence critics on YouTube by way of hitting them with a copyright strike, La Ruina expressed interest in doing so. After a back-and-forth in which Chris brought up developers who had used copyright strikes in the past and had been roundly criticized for it, he later logged on to find that La Ruina had gone ahead and filed a DMCA against his video, causing YouTube to take it down on behalf of his company, PUA Training.
DMCA claims that falsely accuse YouTubers of breaching copyright law can lead to channels receiving copyright strikes, and if they receive enough, their entire channel can be removed and demonetized. As a result, filing a DMCA claim is a serious step, with it leading to a loss of earnings for those who have their videos removed.
According to Chris, developer RLR Training and PUA Training contacted him to apologize for the DMCA claim, saying that they will pay for any revenue he has lost as a result of La Ruina’s actions. After critic Jim Sterling posted a video on the incident, La Ruina tweeted calling his actions “childish of course and not at all policy to DMCA negative videos.” We have reached out to him for comment.
Watch IAmPattyjack’s video detailing the events leading up to the DMCA claim below:
