A federal jury in Nashville ordered YouTuber Ryan Upchurch to pay $18 million in May 2026, ending the Ryan Upchurch lawsuit brought by the father and grandfather of Kiely Rodni, the 16-year-old California girl whose 2022 accidental drowning Upchurch repeatedly told his millions of subscribers was a hoax and a GoFundMe scam.1People. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch Ordered to Pay Millions to Father and Grandfather of Kiely Rodni The verdict is one of the largest known against an individual online creator for conspiracy videos targeting a real person’s death.
What the Lawsuit Was About
Kiely Rodni disappeared on August 6, 2022, after a party near the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, California. Volunteer divers found her submerged Honda CR-V in the Prosser Creek Reservoir on August 21, 2022, with her body inside. The Nevada County coroner ruled the cause of death an accidental drowning and found no evidence of foul play.2KCRA. Kiely Rodni’s Death Ruled Accidental
Days after the recovery, Upchurch, a country-rap artist from Cheatham County, Tennessee, with more than three million YouTube subscribers, began posting videos claiming the death was staged. His August 29, 2022 video “ZERO proof of Kiely Rodni situation being REAL” drew hundreds of thousands of views.3FOX 10. YouTuber Hit With $17.5M Verdict in Defamation Case Over Kiely Rodni True Crime Video In it and follow-ups, he stated that Rodni’s disappearance was “fake,” that her family had orchestrated a “scam” through GoFundMe, and that Kiely, her father, and her grandfather were “not real” people. He told viewers, “Do you realize that you can be a millionaire on GoFundMe by catfishing people with internet deaths?… It’s free money.”4Justia. Robertson v. Upchurch, No. 3:23-cv-00770
He also claimed a “fake police department” had identified her body, that officers were in on the fabrication, and that photos and videos of Kiely actually showed a different person named “Callie Ross.”4Justia. Robertson v. Upchurch, No. 3:23-cv-00770 According to the lawsuit, Upchurch published the family’s home address, and viewers flooded grandfather David Robertson’s business with negative online reviews.5Reno Gazette Journal. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch to Pay Kiely Rodni Family Court records show he had previously offered condolences before pivoting to the conspiracy narrative, and during that period he openly discussed how much money he was earning from the Rodni content.6The Tennessean. Nashville Ryan Upchurch YouTube Defamation Case
On July 28, 2023, Daniel Rodni (Kiely’s father) and David Robertson (her grandfather) sued Upchurch in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The complaint brought five claims: defamation, defamation per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy.4Justia. Robertson v. Upchurch, No. 3:23-cv-00770 Attorney Christopher Smith said the family originally just wanted Upchurch to stop posting about them; when he refused, they filed suit.5Reno Gazette Journal. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch to Pay Kiely Rodni Family
How the Case Reached Trial
Upchurch moved to dismiss, arguing his statements were protected opinion rather than verifiable assertions of fact, and that he had formed his views from publicly available reports and disclosed his sources to viewers. On May 21, 2024, Chief Judge William L. Campbell Jr. denied the motion, finding that Upchurch’s statements “were expressed in terms of absolute certainty and are objectively capable of being proven false.” The court also held that the “scam” accusation could support defamation per se, and that California law would govern.4Justia. Robertson v. Upchurch, No. 3:23-cv-00770
A second pretrial ruling shaped the trial’s playing field. Public figures suing for defamation must prove “actual malice,” meaning the speaker knew the statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. On May 7, 2026, Judge Campbell ruled that Rodni and Robertson were private figures, so they did not have to meet that heightened standard.7Justia. Robertson v. Upchurch, Memorandum and Order
The Verdict
The trial ran from May 12 to May 18, 2026, in Nashville. Upchurch’s defense framed the case as a free-speech matter, telling the jury that “freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights that is necessary for every free society.”8WSMV. Nashville YouTuber Hit With $17.5M Verdict in Defamation Case
On May 18, 2026, the jury returned a unanimous verdict for the plaintiffs on defamation per se and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It awarded $17.5 million in compensatory damages, split $6.5 million to Daniel Rodni and $11 million to David Robertson.1People. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch Ordered to Pay Millions to Father and Grandfather of Kiely Rodni The jury added $500,000 in punitive damages shortly after, $250,000 per plaintiff, bringing the total judgment to $18 million.8WSMV. Nashville YouTuber Hit With $17.5M Verdict in Defamation Case
What Happens Next
The family, in a statement through their attorney, said the verdict “stands as a powerful reminder that using a massive online platform to spread false claims about a grieving family has real consequences,” and that they could now “move forward in peace and focus on what matters most: honoring the memory of Kiely Rodni.”9KCRA. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch Kiely Rodni $18 Million Defamation Case
Upchurch’s general counsel and manager, Tia Bailiff, released a written statement expressing “heartfelt sympathy” to the families involved and describing Upchurch as “a staunch advocate for the United States Constitution and the rights” it protects. On the verdict itself, Bailiff said, “Mr. Upchurch has no comment at this time.”10NewsNation. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch Defamation Judgment As of the case’s termination on May 20, 2026, Upchurch had not publicly indicated whether he plans to appeal.1People. YouTuber Ryan Upchurch Ordered to Pay Millions to Father and Grandfather of Kiely Rodni
Whether the family collects the full judgment is a separate question. Before the verdict, Upchurch’s estimated net worth was roughly $7 million, and no reporting as of mid-2026 has addressed whether any payment or collection has begun.11PennLive. Country Artist’s Net Worth Is Minus $10 Million After Losing Suit
A Separate Lawsuit Over the Same Videos
The Robertson case was not the only suit arising from Upchurch’s Rodni-related content. In August 2023, Melvin Cedeno, who goes by the online handle “Ickedmel,” filed his own defamation lawsuit against Upchurch in the same federal court, alleging that Upchurch had posted videos falsely tying him to sex trafficking and pedophilia, including a claim that “Ickedmel” was a coded anagram for “sell me kid.”12Cedeno v. Upchurch. Response to Motion to Dismiss The court designated the two cases as related in August 2024. Unlike the Robertson case, the Cedeno suit was resolved through mediation and dismissed with prejudice on March 28, 2025, meaning it cannot be refiled. The terms were not made public.13CourtListener. Cedeno v. Upchurch Docket