Highlights
- Brandi Passante sued Hunter Moore for $2.5 million after he posted scandalous photos on his controversial website.
- Passante experienced severe emotional distress, prompting her lawsuit that ultimately resulted in Moore paying only $750 in damages.
- Moore, known as "The Most Hated Man on the Internet," served two and a half years in prison.
Once a person reaches a certain level of fame, it can be easy to feel like they are untouchable. However, even the biggest stars can be vulnerable to lawsuits. After all, Lionel Richie was sued for plagiarism, Mel Brooks was sued over a joke, and Dwayne Johnson was sued for billions.
Since Storage Wars fans are devoted, they want to know what has happened to the show's cast. However, almost all Storage Wars' fans don't know that Brandi Passante was involved in a really extreme lawsuit. In fact, Passante sued someone who was known as "the most hated man on the internet" for $2.5 million.
This article will reveal why Storage Wars' Brandi Passante sued a controversial internet celebrity for $2.5 million. Then, the article will look at what happened to "the most hated man on the internet" after Passante's lawsuit.
Brandi Passante Sued A Hated Figure For $2.5 Million After He Posted Scandalus Photos
In 2014, The Guardian interviewed a man named Hunter Moore after a woman named Charlotte Laws had been fighting to stop him. At the time, Moore was one of the most talked about people on the internet because of a wildly controversial website he created and ran.
On that website, Moore published photos of people not wearing clothes without their knowledge or permission. Moore would also include identifying information about the people in the images like their names and addresses.
Moore had a policy of posting these images and that information after a third party sent them to him. Furthermore, when the people in the images contacted Moore to have the photos taken down, he would refuse to. While talking to The Guardian in 2014, Moore took pride in what he was doing. Moore even went so far as to label himself, "a professional life ruiner".
Long before The Guardian published their profile of Moore, he was sued by Brandi Passante.
The reason why Moore has been called "The Most Hated Man on the Internet" is because of what he had done with random people's photos and information. However, that wasn't the only controversial thing that Moore has done during his life.
In Brandi Passante's case, Moore never gained access to private photos of her. Despite that, Moore still posted a salacious video and photos that he claimed to be of Passante on his controversial website.
In 2021, Brandi Passante was involved in another legal matter. At that time, Passante's ex-partner and fellow Storage Wars star Jarrod Schulz was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence battery after an incident involving her.
Long before people were talking about celebrity deepfakes, people like Moore would try to pass off videos of people who look like celebrities as the real thing. Needless to say, that could be very traumatic for the celebrities involved.
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According to an article from The Hollywood Reporter, Passante learned that Moore published the video he claimed was of her from someone on Twitter. The outlet went on to report that Passante received messages about Moore's post on the social media network now known as X.
Some of those messages included things like “Can’t wait to see more of the video,” and “Love the pics".
As a part of her lawsuit, Passante claimed that she suffered serious emotional distress after learning about Moore's post. More specifically, Passante claimed that she suffered anxiety, lost sleep and even physical illness because of what Moore did to her.
Fearing that her loved ones may see Moore's post and believe it was genuine, that inspired Passante to sue. According to The Hollywood Reporter's article, Passante sued Moore for Lanham Act violations, defamation, invasion of privacy, consumer fraud, and more.
As a part of Passante's lawsuit, she asked the court to order Moore to pay her $2.5 million. Finally, Passante asked the judge to grant her a summary judgment. For those that don't know, a summary judgment seeks to avoid a trial when one party in a lawsuit claims the outcome is obvious.
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, Brandi Passante's years as a reality TV star and a business owner were rewarding for her. In June 2024, the website reported that Passante had a $2 million net worth.
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As a part of The Hollywood Reporter's article, they stated that Moore didn't mount much of a legal defense in court.
According to a report from The New Yorker, Moore did respond to Passante's lawsuit at one point. When he first received legal papers about the Storage Wars star's lawsuit, Moore reportedly responded by sending Passante's lawyer a photo of a man's genitals.
Given the details of Passante's lawsuit and Moore responded, it makes sense that she won in court. However, The Hollywood Reporter's article revealed that Passante didn't get anything close to $2.5 million.
Moore was only ordered to pay Passante $750 in the end. U.S. District Judge James Selna ruled that Passante didn't prove that she suffered damages that warranted a $2.5 million judgment.
On the bright side, the judge ruled that Moore had to cease distributing the video and images he'd previously claimed were of Passsante. The Hollywood Reporter's article also claimed it was likely that Moore would have to pay Passante's legal bills.
Hunter "The Most Hated Man On The Internet" Moore Served Time In Prison After Brandi Passante's Lawsuit
Years after Brandi Passante and Hunter Moore tangled in court, Netflix released a docuseries about him. That series, which is titled The Most Hated Man on the Internet became a sensation and resulted in Moore getting renewed attention.
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In July 2022, Newsweek published an article looking at what happened to Moore after Passante's lawsuit. As it turned out, Moore got himself in serious trouble with the law and he ultimately found himself serving prison time.
After an investigation, Moore was arrested by The FBI. Moore was then charged with conspiracy, unauthorized access to a protected computer, and aggravated identity theft and released on a $100,000 bond.
In the end, Moore pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting in the unauthorized access of a computer in February 2015.
According to Newsweek's article, the judge that oversaw Moore's criminal trial took him to task. In court, Judge Gee called Moore's conduct "particularly reprehensible". A comment like that says a lot when it comes from a trial judge who regularly passed judgment on criminals.
At the end of the trial, Moore was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and only $145 in victim restitution. The real penalty for Moore was that he was ordered to serve two and a half years in prison.
