Nik Richie

Early life

Richie was born in Hackensack, New Jersey as Hooman Abedi Karamian to Armenian parents from Iran. Prior to his Internet career, he worked as a credit card processor.

Career

Richie founded the gossip website TheDirty.com in March 2007 as DirtyScottsdale.com while living in Scottsdale, Arizona and started using the pseudonym Nik Richie, as he preferred to stay anonymous. The content on Dirtyscottsdale.com initially focused on derision of Scottsdale's club scene.

Ben Quayle wrote for DirtyScottsdale.com

Co-founded by Ari Golden, the later and more widely known version, TheDirty.com, allows users to anonymously upload their own "dirt" including news, gossip, accusations, photos, videos, or text, and comment on posts submitted by others.

Richie operated TheDirty.com anonymously until September 4, 2008, when he was arrested for DUI and reckless driving in Scottsdale. Once news of his arrest surfaced, Richie publicly admitted his real identity.

In a March 2019 Instagram post, Richie stated he was no longer associated with TheDirty.com, having 'retired' from the site in April 2018.

TheDirty.com

Lawsuits

:"A lawyer for Dirty World LLC, David Gingras, says he represents Dirty World LLC, which operates Thedirty.com. ... He says the company named, Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, does not own or have a relationship with the website."

In May 2010, Richie's website TheDirty published web posts: :"to retaliate against Kristen Creighton of La Porte, Texas, who won a $1.5 million judgment in October against Richie and his company, Dirty World."

In 2011, Memphis, Tennessee, TV reporter Lauren Lee's lawsuit demanded that posts be permanently removed and $50 million.

In a heavily publicized case, Sarah Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, LLC, a federal court in Kentucky initially found that Richie was not entitled to CDA immunity in a case arising from several posts about Kentucky high school teacher and part-time cheerleader Sarah Jones. The jury awarded Jones $338,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. However, Richie filed a successful appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which in June 2014 ordered the judgment vacated and dismissed.

Richie has been the defendant in several lawsuits relating to material posted on TheDirty.com. Richie has argued that he is protected from liability by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, like other operators of blogs and websites that allow third party users to submit content.

Donald Trump

In 2011, thedirty.com published an uncorroborated article claiming Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump had a sexual encounter at a golfing event, and Life & Style Weekly, a supermarket tabloid, printed the story. Stormy Daniels interviewed with Bauer Publishing, the parent company of Life & Style Weekly and In Touch Weekly magazines.

Media appearances

In November 2010, Nik Richie, with his wife, Shayne Lamas, appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil devoted to the subject of online bullying and gossip entitled "Dirt, Lies and the Internet.". Phil McGraw questioned Richie about the morality of a website which allows users to openly bash each other with hurtful and profane comments, to which Richie responded that there is a marketplace for such a website. McGraw replied, "Well, there's a marketplace for heroin too, but that doesn't justify being a heroin addict."

In November 2011, Richie was interviewed by talk show host Anderson Cooper in an episode during which he was confronted by Sarah Jones, the former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader and high school teacher who, at the time, was suing Richie for defamation. Richie was featured in a second interview with Anderson Cooper which aired in January 2012.

In June 2011, ABC News program 20/20 aired a segment about Richie and his legal battle with Sarah Jones.

In late 2012, Richie and his then-wife Shayne Lamas appeared on Season 2 of VH1 reality show Couples Therapy along with several other couples. In the season's final episode, Richie and Lamas renewed their wedding vows in a televised ceremony. Richie and Lamas appeared together in a Couples Therapy reunion episode which aired in 2014.

In May 2013, Richie released a memoir, Sex, Lies and The Dirty.

Personal life

Richie's first marriage, to Amanda Toney, took place in 2005 and ended in 2009.

Richie's second marriage was to actress and reality TV personality Shayne Lamas. The pair met during a vacation to Las Vegas and were married on April 18, 2010 at the Little White Wedding Chapel eight hours after they first met. They had two children: daughter Press, born November 11, 2011, and son Lyon, born via surrogate on July 4, 2015. They divorced in 2021.

Richie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2015.

Bibliography

• 2013 - Sex, Lies and The Dirty

References

References

1. ""Nik Richie," of Dirty Shame, Sued...Again".
2. "Gossip blog TheDirty.com under fire for nasty comments".
3. (July 11, 2010). "Shayne Lamas' Hubby--Taking Wife's Last Name".
4. Richie, Nik. (2013-04-19). "Sex, Lies and The Dirty". Feral House.
5. (October 2014). "The Terrifying Ten".
6. (2018-03-28). "Nik Richie - Vegas Seven".
7. Hill, Kashmir. "The Dirty Business: How Gossipmonger Nik Richie of TheDirty.com Stays Afloat".
8. (August 26, 2010). "Quayle-linked site in libel suit - POLITICO".
9. (August 10, 2010). "Quayle denies link to Scottsdale site - POLITICO".
10. (2011-12-04). "Gossip blog TheDirty.com under fire for nasty comments".
11. "Should TheDirty Website Be Liable For Encouraging Users To Gossip?".
12. "'Dirty' Web site owner posts own record - UPI.com".
13. "Man behind thedirty.com gets DUI, sheds anonymity".
14. [https://www.instagram.com/p/BumjXwXBWkY/ Nik Richie] [[Instagram]]
15. Brantley, Max. (2015-01-23). "Judge gives $1.25 million award over defamatory comments on Thedirty.com".
16. (2010-05-21). "Nik Richie Sued Again By Texas Woman, Removes Most Retaliatory Posts About Her From TheDirty.Com - Phoenix News - Valley Fever".
17. (2010-05-11). "Nik Richie Claims TheDirty.Com Pulls In $130,000 a Month; Owes $1.5 Million After Default Judgment - Phoenix News - Valley Fever".
18. (2010-05-27). "Nik Richie Strikes Back at Texas Woman Who Won Lawsuit; Vows to Make Her "The Face of Herpes" - Phoenix News - Valley Fever".
19. (2020-08-07). ""Nik Richie," of Dirty Shame, Sued...Again {{!}} Phoenix New Times".
20. (July 11, 2013). "Former Bengals cheerleader awarded $338,000 in defamation lawsuit". USA Today.
21. "Jury rules in favor of ex-Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones in defamation case". Scripps Media.
22. (June 17, 2014). "Ex-cheerleader's $380K award against 'dirty' website overturned by court". Business Insurance Holdings.
23. Corn, David. "The full Stormy hush-money tale shows plenty of witnesses who could be trouble for Trump".
24. (2024-05-07). "Who is Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who is testifying in Trump's hush money criminal trial?".
25. Knaut, Gretchen. (2023-05-24). "Detailed Timeline of Trump Hush Money-2016 Election Investigation".
26. (2023-03-30). "Detailed Chronology in Trump-Cohen Hush Money Investigation {{!}} Portside".
27. "The Man Behind TheDirty.com Is Just As Awful In Person".
28. "Dirt, Lies, and the Internet".
29. "Nik Richie of TheDirty On Dr. Phil Show".
30. "Bengals Cheerleader Confronts Website Owner for Defamation of Character".
31. "Anderson to Nik Richie: 'I Just Don't Get You'".
32. "Ben-Gal Sarah Jones On 20/20 Tonight". Gannett.
33. "Cincinnati Bengals Cheerleader Sarah Jones Fights Dirty Online Sex Rumors". ABC News.
34. "Former 'Housewives of NYC' stars headed to 'Couple's Therapy'". Hollywood News Network.
35. (2016-03-04). "Dream Wedding - Video Clip from Couples Therapy With Dr. Jenn {{!}} S2, E10 {{!}} VH1".
36. (2014-09-03). "Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn Reunion (TV Series) {{!}} VH1".
37. (April 25, 2013). "Lindsay Lohan Coke Story Revealed In New Gossip Book: 'Sex, Lies & The Dirty'".
38. "Nik Richie, aka, Hooman Karamian Served with Divorce Papers by Wife Amanda Toney". Phoenix New Times.
39. (2010-04-25). "Nik Richie's "Wife," Shayne Lamas, Admits She's Not In Love With Him; That Kinda Talk Could Get Someone's Mug on The Dirty - Phoenix News - Valley Fever".
40. (2010-05-11). "Nik Richie Claims TheDirty.Com Pulls In $130,000 a Month; Owes $1.5 Million After Default Judgment - Phoenix News - Valley Fever".
41. (April 19, 2010). "'Bachelor' Winner -- Elopes in Vegas". EHM Productions, Inc..
42. (April 19, 2010). "Shayne Lamas elopes with Nik Richie one day after meeting him in Las Vegas". New York Daily News.
43. (November 11, 2011). "Shayne Lamas Births 11-11-11 Baby!". E! Entertainment Television.
44. "Shayne Lamas and Husband Nik Richie Welcome Baby Boy Via Surrogate". Penske Business Media, LLC.
45. "Shayne Lamas Announces She and Nik Richie Are Divorcing After 11 Years of Marriage". Dotdash Meredith.
46. (April 19, 2017). "Cleaning up The Dirty". SB Nation.