'Warner Bros. is threatening to destroy my YouTube Channel' says popular modder, alleging that a sweep of copyright claims forced them to scrub 1 billion views' worth of videos from the internet

ToastedShoes, the mastermind behind a truly unhinged YouTube channel by the same name, has alleged that Warner Bros. is «threatening to destroy» his channel by means of an overkill IP infringement notice.

You might remember ToastedShoes as the guy who added Homer Simpson to Elden Ring, or the person who tempted the famously litigious Nintendo with a Palworld Pokémon conversion mod (which later received an accursed, but legally distinct version). 

Most recently, the YouTuber crafted a Star Wars clone trooper mod for Helldivers 2 with the help of his team—which is important context, since he's by no means a solo act. ToastedShoes the YouTube Channel is, by all accounts, a business with employees and salaries.

A large part of ToastedShoes' bread and butter, however, are (presently, were) his now-vanished Mortal Kombat videos, which featured characters from just about everywhere (including Disney and Pixar properties) absolutely wrecking each other in NetherRealm's gore-splattered fighting games. 

I voiced Rick, Morty, and Meeseeks in another @ToastedShoes mod :) pic.twitter.com/IoI5GgBLhTDecember 26, 2023

ToastedShoes discussed the situation on his Twitter in a lengthy post: «this morning I received an IP Infringement Notification directly from Warner Brothers stating that the Mortal Kombat mods in my content 'infringe' on their intellectual property rights. I've been requested to delete all Mortal Kombat 1 videos from my channel or else they will issue copyright strikes and essentially delete my channel in its entirety.»

A report by IGN states that the takedowns in question were filed by an «AI-powered brand protection company called Tracer,» which suggests that the takedown notices were, in part, automated. 

I've plenty of sympathy for ToastedShoes here, even if you could make the argument that his livelihood does very much hinge on playing with fire—especially in the modern age of increasingly aggressive copyright claims. 

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