Podcasting couple spar in court against creator who said they 'might be brother and sister'

OTTAWA — Husband-and-wife podcasters Ryan and Tanya Davies had their long-awaited day in court amid a defamation suit against a rival who they say falsely accused them of being biological siblings whose incestuous relationship caused their son’s autism.

The Hamilton, Ont. couple, who co-host the popular conservative podcast Northern Perspective , are seeking $150,000 in damages from Spencer Butts, also of Hamilton, over a pattern of alleged malicious and defamatory statements targeting them and their child.

Butts said in an Apr. 17, 2025 livestream on his YouTube channel MCGA that the Davies “very well might be brother and sister, which would make another thing make sense, which would be way too mean of me to say but you can all infer.”

The couple has a nine-year-old son who lives with autism and a global developmental delay, whose condition they’ve spoken about publicly .

The plaintiffs and defendant came face-to-face in a Hamilton courtroom on Thursday, where a hearing lasted roughly two-and-a-half hours. Justice Andrew Goodman is now expected to take one to three months to release a decision on the matter.

In a sworn affidavit viewed by National Post, Ryan Davies said the online disparagement started shortly after Butts reached out to Northern Perspective in late February 2025 to share a video he’d recently posted of him registering to vote in the Ontario election without photo ID (the video ends when Butts is directed to sign an attestation and declines).

Davies says that, after he and wife Tanya watched the video, they sent Butts a reply telling him that his investigation seemed incomplete, because he had not tested all the safeguards in place to prevent election fraud. They nevertheless forwarded the video to Elections Ontario and advised Butts to do the same.

According to Davies, the reply triggered “multiple back-and-forth emails,” with Butts getting increasingly frustrated and accusing them of dismissing his evidence.

Davies said the couple were soon on the receiving end of escalating online abuse, eventually extending to their disabled son.

In a series of Apr. 7, 2025 social media posts, Butts called the Davies “frauds and grifters” “who beg for money for a kid that doesn’t need it.”

Butts said in the Apr. 17 livestream that the couple was “clearly bought and paid for” and “refuse(d) to look at evidence” regarding election fraud.

Davies added that Butts repeatedly posted private correspondences online, including in a Jul. 10 apology video, which Davies said included screenshots of confidential legal communications.

He also said Northern Perspective lost hundreds of subscribers after Butts portrayed himself as a victim of lawfare in the video and tried to raise money from a lawsuit the Davies filed later that month .

The lawsuit created a noticeable rift among right-leaning content creators, with several prominent conservative influencers posting messages of support for Butts.

Butts told National Post that he didn’t know the Davies had a disabled son at the time of the Jun. 17 livestream, and said the insult was directed at the couple’s appearance. He added that he approached the two of them to apologize for any perceived insult to their son after the hearing ended on Thursday.

Butts said he represented himself in Thursday’s proceedings because he couldn’t afford a lawyer.

The Davies and their lawyer James Kitchen declined to comment on the case.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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