Nik Richie
| Nik Lamas-Richie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Hooman Karamian February 12, 1979 |
| Occupation | blogger, writer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Known for | Gossip website TheDirty.com |
| Spouse(s) | Shayne Lamas (m. 2010–present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | TheDirty.com |
Nik Richie (born Hooman Karamian, February 12, 1979), previously known as Corbin Grimes, is an American blogger, author, and Internet personality. Richie is best known for his user-submitted gossip website TheDirty.com which he began in 2007 as DirtyScottsdale.com.
Richie is the founder and contributing editor of the online gossip and "reality internet" website TheDirty.com. He began the site in March 2007 as DirtyScottsdale.com while living in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the time, Richie was working as a credit card processor but was unhappy with that job, so he began Dirtyscottsdale.com "to chronicle the nightlife of the 'cool kids' in the Arizona town."
The content on Dirtyscottsdale.com initially focused on Richie's personal criticism and lampooning of Scottsdale and its club scene, which he highlighted with "rudely captioned photos of drunk people, of breast jobs gone bad and so-called $30,000 millionaires showing off their cars, apartments and expensive jeans." The current version of TheDirty.com allows users to upload their own "dirt" which may include news, gossip, accusations, photos, videos, or text, and users can comment on posts submitted by others. Richie has described the decision to create Dirtyscottsdale.com "as a joke for me and my buddies. The word spread so quickly it got out of hand."
In the early days of Dirtyscottsdale.com, Richie's true identity was unknown. When the site began to receive more attention, Richie attempted to maintain his anonymity by giving media interviews in disguise, sometimes using a fake British accent, or sometimes appearing with his back to the camera. Using these methods Richie was able to keep his identity secret for 18 months.
Richie's anonymity ended on September 4, 2008 after he was arrested for DUI and reckless driving in Scottsdale. On the police report, Richie (then Karamian) described his occupation as "web site writer" and his employer as "Dirty Scottsdale". Ironically, prior to his arrest Richie included a section on Dirtyscottsdale.com which prominently featured mugshots of drivers arrested for DUI with a message warning, "Learn to laugh at yourself or DON'T DO STUPID SHIT LOVERS!!!" Once news of his arrest surfaced, Richie publicly "outed" himself and admitted his real identity with a post entitled "Is Hooman Karamian the Real Nik Richie?"
Many have criticized Richie for the harsh comments frequently posted on his site, suggesting that the site encourages cyber bullying and slut shaming. Other critics have suggested that Nik Richie and his website Thedirty.com could potentially ruin someone's life, career or reputation while also pointing out the website'a complete lack of validity.
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Wikipedia