Competitive Endurance Tickling Doc at Center of Controversy

An upcoming HBO documentary called "Tickled," which explores the world of competitive endurance tickling, is at the center of controversy, after its creators were hit with a lawsuit and a website/Twitter account were created to discredit its move-makers, IndieWire reports.

The film debuted at Sundance and the True/False Film Festival earlier this year and doesn't hit theaters until June, but "Tickled" has apparently tickled Jane O'Brien Media, a U.S. company that runs these tickling events which the film focuses on, the wrong way.

It's revealed in "Tickled" that David D'Amato runs Jane O'Brien Media, according to IndieWire, which writes the film goes on to "expose some troubling practices at the company."

The documentary's co-director, New Zealand journalist David Farrier, told the website in March how the company initially responded the film.

"Their first reply was 'we don't want to deal with a homosexual journalist,'" Farrier said at the time. "That comment is what kicked this whole thing off. They wrote that on their public Facebook page."

Before he even made the doc, Farrier found Jane O'Brien Media to be a litigious organization as he and co-director Dylan Reeve received notices from attorneys, alleging defamation, after the duo blogged about their interaction with the business. The incident led the men to believe there was a larger story at play and they started an investigation.

Not only has Farrier been hit with a lawsuit, but IndieWire reports a website was created to discredit "Tickled" and its creators.

A post from April reads:

My name is Kevin Clarke. I have been producing video's for Jane O'Brien Media for 7 years. I have also been the target of a world class liar David Farrier through his Liarmentary "Tickled." It has broken every ethic in Journalism, lied about just about...

Another post calls Farrier "THE FRAUD." Read the full post by clicking here.

In addition, a Twitter account with the handle @kjclarkee, which is unverified and claims to belong to Clarke, who is a producer for Jane O'Brien Media and apparently created the above website, reportedly contacted journalists about their coverage of the doc, according to IndieWire. The account hasn't tweeted since 2010, save for one tweet from April 24, 2016, which is a link to the anti-"Tickled" website.

Despite the legal actions and apparent smear campaign, Farrier said he isn't worried about the controversy. He did, however, speak with lawyers before making "Tickled" to make sure he would be protected against lawsuits, IndieWire notes. The site adds HBO and Magnolia still plan on distributing the film.

When asked if people should believe him or D'Amato, he told IndieWire they should "see the film and make up their own minds."

Check out the trailer for "Tickled" below.