Kevin O'Leary sued over defamation claims tied to Utah data center

Television personality and entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary is being sued for defamation by Utah political groups Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies, along with their founders. The complaint alleges that O'Leary repeatedly accused the groups of being proxies for the Chinese Communist Party during at least ten media appearances between May 11 and early June, including on Fox News programs. Plaintiffs say the statements caused severe reputational damage, economic loss, harassment and threats, and seek compensatory and punitive damages. O'Leary’s attorney dismissed the case as a cash‑grab, while O'Leary later posted on Instagram that he had no evidence of Chinese funding. Fox News, also named as a defendant, says it corrected the record on every program where the comments aired.

The lawsuit centers on O'Leary’s Stratos Project, a proposed hyperscale AI data center in Box Elder County near the Great Salt Lake. The development, originally approved for up to 40,000 acres and up to nine gigawatts of power, has faced local opposition over water use, air quality, noise, traffic and its approval process. Governor Spencer Cox has responded by issuing an executive order tightening Utah’s data‑center regulations.