Discretion, being the better part of valor, it is seldom a good idea for a party to a divorce, to publicize the gory details of their case. But one ill-advised wife went even further; she made a You Tube video so she could air her dirty laundry.
In her video, Tricia Walsh Smith discuss her sex life (or absence of) with her husband, her husband’s stash of porn, condoms and Viagra, her relationship with her step-children and the terms of her pre-nuptial agreement.
As pointed out in the Legal Blog Watch:
A number of divorce lawyers interviewed for an Associated Press story criticized Walsh-Smith’s tactics. Attorney Bonnie Rabin commented that You Tube videos “bring the concept of humiliation to a whole new level.” Moreover, videos can ultimately hurt litigants — a judge might question a party’s judgment in posting a video and hold it against him in ruling on the case. And there’s always the possibility of a defamation action if the video rants include intentionally false information.
Walsh-Smith is now represented by famed divorce attorney Raoul Felder — though she wasn’t his client when she made the video. Felder told AP that he thought his client “comes off well.” However, the majority of commenters on the video disagree; many labeled Walsh-Smith a “gold digger,” with one even comparing her to another Brit involved in a contentious divorce: Heather Mills.
This video is simply an awful idea. It should not be emulated. Despite Ms. Walsh’s attempt to portray herself has a naïve spouse, rejected by her husband, she comes across as shrew, mean and vindictive.
The video is intended only to embarrass and humiliate her husband. It can also be viewed as a not so veiled threat as to what may follow if her husband does not capitulate to her demands. Either way this type of conduct is reprehensible.
If this type of public broadcast of martial differences ever caught on, I would expect it to be negatively considered in decisions awarding equitable distribution, maintenance and, most certainly, child custody.
