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Judge Evicts YouTube Divorce Star Tricia Walsh-Smith
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2008
Modified Jul 22, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2008
Modified Jul 22, 2008
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Yesterday a Manhattan judge granted Philip Smith, head of the Shubert Organization, a divorce from his wife Tricia Walsh-Smith, who became an internet sensation after making a YouTube video that excoriated her prominent husband for his stash of “Viagra, porn movies, and condoms.” The video got over 3 million hits, but the judge was not a fan; yesterday he called it "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband. She has attempted to turn the life of her husband into a soap opera by directing, writing, acting in and producing a melodrama."
The ruling declares the pre-nuptial agreement to be valid and gives Walsh-Smith thirty days to vacate the Park Avenue apartment owned by her husband, who will pay her $750,000. Smith told reporters he’s “happy with the outcome.” His ex-wife, not so much: “I think it's disgusting,” she said outside the court. “I'm really, really disappointed with the decision. I think it totally sucks. It's a horrible pre-nup. I'd be better off in Baghdad. Bush is bringing democracy to Iraq. He should bring it to New York.”
Walsh-Smith has vowed to live in a tent in Central Park while her lawyers appeal, but the improved Wi-Fi in Bryant Park might make that park the better choice for uploading her next video. Speaking of which, the director of her first YouTube hit – One More Crazy Day in the Life of a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes – is outraged that she hasn’t gotten credit for the 6 minute opus. Mary Allen told the Daily News last week that “This is my work. I directed, I shot, I edited this piece.” Walsh-Smith has responded, naturally, with a little bug-eyed movie of her own entitled That Bitch Didn’t Direct My Video.
Tagged
broadway
divorce
lawyer
Philip Smith
Shubert
theater
Tricia Walsh-Smith
video
youtube
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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