Ethan Klein talks about "fair use" of content on YouTube, jokes about xQc being a "criminal"

Ethan Klein
Ethan Klein's take on "fair use" of content went viral on Reddit (Images via Ethan Klein and xQc/Twitter)

During the most recent episode of the H3 Podcast, controversial personality Ethan Klein provided his take on the "fair use" of content on YouTube. While watching an old YouTube video in which Twitch star Felix "xQc" reacted to Cart Narc's viral shenanigans, Ethan Klein claimed that the content creator was "not doing anything" to transform the YouTuber's content.

Klein went on to say that xQc's actions could be seen as infringing on copyright law:

"Interestingly, I would say ours is fair use and his is not. See, we're making a parody of his reaction. He is not doing anything to transform Cart Narc's content. I just want to give you guys a little lesson here on fair use."

He then made a joke with his team, referring to xQc as a "criminal":

"This is the face of a criminal. So, you're friends with a criminal? A felon, perhaps? Perhaps."
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"Ours is fair use and his is not" - Ethan Klein comments on xQc's react content

At the 20-minute mark of the H3 Podcast on March 28, Ethan Klein discussed Cart Narc and reviewed some of his most popular videos. A podcast member then shared a video of xQc reacting to the YouTuber's clip.

While watching the former Overwatch pro's highlight reel, Klein suggested that they should pay more attention to the streamer's reaction, sarcastically saying that it was "super genuine":

"Yeah, we should really be focusing on xQc's reaction, which is super genuine."
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Timestamp: 00:26:25

A few moments later, the 37-year-old personality claimed that his reaction to Cart Narc's content was fair use. xQc's reaction, on the other hand, was not. Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows for the use of copyrighted material under certain circumstances, without the need for permission from the copyright holder.

The YouTuber continued further and added:

"See this? This is the face of someone breaking the law right now."

Fans react to the YouTuber's clip

Ethan Klein's take on "fair use content" was a hot topic of discussion on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit. Some Redditors speculated that his reaction to Cart Narc's video was supposedly taken down:

Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 1/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)
Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 1/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)

Others believed that Klein's comments were made in jest:

Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 2/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)
Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 2/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)

Here are some more relevant fan reactions from the streamer-focused forum:

Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 3/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)
Reddit community discussing the YouTuber's clip 3/3 (Image via r/LivestreamFail)

This isn't the first time that Ethan Klein and xQc have called each other out. Back on July 21, 2021, the latter hit back at the former for his criticism of the prevalence of gambling broadcasts on Twitch.

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