This latest DSP vs SOK is an example of: "Everyone is an asshole".
The SOK/Fred are assholes if they directly tried to harm Phil's business or his life, e.g. by having involvement or prior knowledge in that big plan to copyright strike DSPGaming. They're breaking a simple rule: Don't contaminate the experiment. Don't influence the subject. The whole reason I got into 'hating' DSP was because of the 'people-watching' aspect: he's a fascinating human study of stupidity and personality disorder. Watch him slowly destroy his life because of his own failings and life decisions. It's cheating if you engineer some of Phil's problems or create problems for him.
(This is why I have no interest in following the bigger lolcows - I just find it tasteless to bait and troll lolcows into their behaviour, to provide your daily entertainment. I'm more passive: lolcows should be left alone so that their embarrassments can only be blamed on themselves.)
But Phil's an asshole too, of course. It's now super-convenient for him to blame the SOK for everything so that he doesn't hold himself accountable for his bad decisions.
Phil says: "what caused the money situation? Two things: 1. My accumulating huge debt from a move across the USA, and 2. My INABILITY TO PAY OFF THAT DEBT because of false copyright strikes ..."
I call bullshit on this. I never really understood how those copyright strikes could have damaged his profitability so badly. But I also just watched the video posted a couple of pages ago, where Phil spoke in 2014 shortly before the move to WA. He said in the video that he isn't stupid and he has planned for his future if Youtube suddenly becomes unviable -- that's why he's choosing WA, because Seattle has a huge technology industry, so if Youtube tanks he can get a job at a tech company. Now, this was obviously a little delusional -- did Phil think his Youtube success would qualify him for a job in tech?? Reality has proven him wrong -- he's unemployable, and he stuck to making kwality khantent even once it became unviable.
However, this shows that 2014 Phil was going to hold himself responsible for paying off the huge CC debt he was about to incur by moving across the country. His Youtube profits did indeed rapidly decline soon after - whether naturally or maliciously. But he was going to get a tech job in Seattle, right? Now he can blame the SOK instead.
As for Leanna's brother's wedding... I don't know... not enough data on that. It's believable enough that Leanna's family said, "Look, whatever your boyfriend's weird Nintendo Playstation job is all about, he's got some internet weirdos meddling in our lives now, so it's best if he stays home."
