The Madras High Court has issued a directive instructing YouTuber Joe Michael Praveen to provide ₹50 lakh in compensation to Apsara Reddy, a politician and trans person. This order comes in response to Praveen's dissemination of defamatory content and videos targeting Apsara Reddy on social media platforms and YouTube.

Apsara Reddy, renowned as a celebrity speaker, journalist, and AIADMK spokesperson, informed the court that YouTuber Joe Michael Praveen had persistently engaged in publishing defamatory posts about her.

On January 4, Justice N Sathish Kumar, in his order, meticulously reviewed numerous videos and posts submitted by Reddy in court. The justice observed that these materials were defamatory in nature and highlighted that Praveen had disseminated them online without making any effort to authenticate their accuracy.

Reddy informed the court that back in 2017, during her tenure as an editor at a prominent magazine, Praveen had approached her with a proposition for a collaborative video program. Upon her refusal, Praveen allegedly became upset and resorted to spreading gossip and unfavorable opinions about Reddy.

Reddy conveyed to the court that numerous speaking engagements and opportunities for interaction with others were canceled as a result of Praveen's defamatory posts targeting her.

In addition, Reddy asserted that she endured significant stress and mental anguish due to these circumstances and sought ₹1.25 crores from Praveen as compensation for the damages incurred. The court acknowledged that Praveen's posts and videos had indeed inflicted substantial harm and humiliation upon Reddy. Emphasizing the right to post videos on YouTube, the court underscored that this right should not infringe upon the privacy of others in the process.

The court also took note that Google, the owner of YouTube, had already deleted the defamatory videos in question. Consequently, Reddy did not pursue her case against Google, named as the second defendant in the suit. In conclusion, the court issued a warning against permitting the dissemination of such malicious content on the platform in the future.