Husband of YouTube Star "mortified" by publicity

[Jolie Rouge]

Husband of YouTube Star "mortified" by publicity
By Edith Honan
Fri Jun 27, 5:29 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Broadway producer whose wife found YouTube fame after posting monologues about their failed, high-society marriage described himself in court on Friday as "mortified" and "violated" by the experience.

Philip Smith, 76, president of the Shubert Organization, is suing his wife, British actress Tricia Walsh Smith, 49, for divorce on the grounds that the videos, which have been viewed more than four million times, constitute spousal abuse. "I'm basically a very private person. I've made an effort not to be exposed to the press," said Smith. "That was my first experience with YouTube. I was absolutely mortified and shocked. Here was my life being spread out on a TV."

"I felt violated in every sense of the word," he said.

In the videos, several of which were taped in the couple's swank Park Ave. apartment, Walsh Smith accuses her husband and his daughters of conspiring to evict her from the apartment, and says she discovered her husband hoarding Viagra even though they never had sex.

Walsh Smith testified on Tuesday that she believed a public spectacle was her only recourse to avoid being left penniless. She also testified that she has been paid more than $88,000 in fees for giving interviews about the case.

When asked by his lawyer if he would ever consider reconciling with Walsh Smith, Smith did not hesitate. "Absolutely not, under no conditions," he said. "I can no longer trust her, impossible. I wouldn't close my eyes and go to sleep in front of her."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080627/wr_nm/smith_dc;_ylt=AgJowWd.IDKHZLlPkQSmdOgRSLMF


She also testified that she has been paid more than $88,000 in fees for giving interviews about the case.

They should remember to mention that in the procedings ...

[Jolie Rouge]

Man wins divorce from angry wife in YouTube video
By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jul 21, 6:56 PM ET

NEW YORK - A Broadway mogul whose wife trashed him in a widely viewed Internet video was granted a divorce from her Monday. A Manhattan judge gave Philip Smith a divorce from Tricia Walsh-Smith on the grounds of cruel and inhuman treatment.

Walsh-Smith lashes out against Smith in the tearful and furious YouTube video, which has attracted more than 3 million hits. She makes embarrassing claims about their intimate life and then calls his office to repeat those claims to a stunned assistant. On the video, Walsh-Smith also goes through their wedding album, describing family members as "bad," "evil" or "nasty," and expresses concern about eviction from the couple's luxury apartment.

Judge Harold Beeler blasted Walsh-Smith for her video stunt, which he called "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband" and to pressure him into settling the divorce case on more favorable terms than were stated in their prenuptial agreement. "She has attempted to turn the life of her husband into a soap opera by directing, writing, acting in and producing a melodrama," the judge said.

He said Monday that the prenuptial agreement, signed three weeks before the couple's 1999 wedding, was valid. This means that Walsh-Smith must leave their Park Avenue apartment within 30 days and that Smith, president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway, must pay her $750,000.

Smith said after the ruling he was "sorry it had to come to this."

"I'm happy with the decision of the judge, and I'm happy with the outcome," he said.

Walsh-Smith, a former actress and playwright, didn't see the decision the same way. "I think it's disgusting," she said. "I'm really, really disappointed with the decision."

She accused Smith of "basically throwing me out on the street." One of her attorneys, Joseph P. McCaffery, said they would appeal.

Renowned divorce attorney Raoul Felder briefly represented Walsh-Smith after she made the video. Felder previously said his client was "acting out of passion."

"This is a victim who is holding her head up," he said. "I think she comes off well."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_en_ot/youtube_divorce;_ylt=Ain2myj6ftRKYrbmbz03Kq62GL8C

$750,000 isn't exactly being "tossed out on the street".... :rolleyes:

[Jenefer3]

that's what I was thinking...if that's how people get tossed on the street, sign me up!

[sdb_ngc]

She got a 30 day notice so it's not like she is "thrown on the street."

[mosdata1]

Yeah 30 days notice & 3/4 of a MILLION dollars. She probably would not have made that kind of money her whole career.