A few others can better answer this, but it is likely that Kyle would not be viewed by the court as a "public Figure". An underage victim of a horrific crime is generally given some leeway there. But it may be argued that while his story is of public interest, he did not step into this or put himself out there voluntarily. Where minors are concerned US courts will generally err towards Private Individual. Where Kurt gets into some real trouble is with those psychiatrist claims made to Ben Shapiro about Kyle. That is defamatory and is getting into some deeply questionable areas. What was the purpose of that conversation with Shapiro? It seemed to be Eichenwald attempting to extort something out of Shapiro or to extort Shapiro to extort something out of Kyle via clear threat of defamation. And yes telling the world that "I have psychiatrists who believe that Kyle is clinically insane" is something for which actual damages can be awarded. It is an attempt to interfere with his future education and employment prospects, right at the moment the child is developing them. It's in fact heinous. The fact that it is a coordinated threat backed by what clearly seems to be or feels like an attempt at extortion could be construed as a criminal act depending on jurisdiction and how enterprising the DA is. At least it would be if it was done by a normie and not a protected class such as an insane megalomaniacal has been journalist well on his way to Super Villainy.