Sometimes a lawsuit comes along that makes Costanza v. Seinfeld look like it stood on solid ground — a legal action so ridiculous as to defy all belief. Let me tell you about the lolsuit (full docket at lolsuit.com), a little gem I stumbled upon in the wild as a fan of many of the defendants involved.

The lolsuit is a hilarious, absurd, and thoroughly entertaining $380M action filed by internet satirist Maddox (of The Alphabet of Manliness and The Best Page in The Universe) and his girlfriend against Maddox’s former business partner and fellow satirist Dick Masterson, many of his friends and comedy partners, and the companies that employ or fund them.

Out of respect of their privacy, whenever applicable, all persons involved are referred to by their online handles rather than their real names.

A Quick Background

Maddox is one of the fathers of internet satire. Adopting the persona of a manly and narcissistic pirate, he starts The Best Page In The Universe in 1996, where he rants about the minutia of pop culture while satirizing feminism and championing manliness. His internet popularity grows quickly and his first book, The Alphabet Of Manliness, becomes a New York Times Bestseller.

Dick Masterson is a satirist with an over-the-top chauvinistic persona who rose to fame through the website Men Are Better Than Women, the eponymous book, and a five-day stint on Dr. Phil in which he appeared in character donning aviators, a shaved head and 70s porn stache.

In May 2014, Dick and Maddox start co-hosting a weekly comedy podcast, The Biggest Problem In The Universe. It’s the Seinfeld of podcasts, replete with funny rants, absurdist arguments and first-rate comedy bits.

A clip from The Biggest Problem In The Universe, Episode 69

The great chemistry between the co-hosts starts waning after Dick sleeps with an ex-girlfriend of Maddox’s (of three years prior, and despite Maddox being already involved with a live-in girlfriend).

Unfortunately, this point in time also marks the start of Maddox’s estrangement from his own fans — and, some would say, reality itself. Maddox’s topics on the comedy show increasingly become more political, taking a hard left, and he becomes more and more incensed by comments from listeners who rebut his points or criticize him in any way. In a dubious move, Maddox — who, as a satirist, built his reputation on being an attentive observant of pop culture — manages to publish a video in which he completely misunderstands the meaning of the internet insult “cuck” and staunchly proclaims that “There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a cuckold!,” which sparks an endless barrage of mockery from his own fans.

Maddox ends the podcast a few months later, and both co-hosts start their own shows. The reason for the split is unknown to the audience, but Dick seems to suggest it was amicable, while Maddox does not publicly mention the matter at all. Dick starts taking lighthearted jabs at Maddox for, among other things, taking the RSS feed of the old show and redirecting it to his own.

But Maddox still doesn’t seem to have forgiven his friend’s escapade with his ex-girlfriend. About four months into the new shows, Maddox focus-tests and then releases a “hit job” YouTube video based on comically poor evidence and out-of-context audio cut from the old show in which he accuses Dick of lying (launching the #DickLies hashtag), embezzling funds from the old podcast, being a “rape apologist,” and maintaining a “rape list” through his show. Although the accusations are easily disproved, because of Maddox’s clout, Dick loses several contacts and business opportunities in the comedy scene.

After responding to the accusations point by point, Dick starts taking more jabs at Maddox. Madcucks, a Maddox parody, becomes a frequent guest on Dick’s show (the “cuck” reference coming from Maddox’s earlier video).