All language subtitles for T.A.M.A.S01E01.The.King.of.Infidelity.1080p.DSNP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-CMRG_track4_[eng]

[birds chirping]

[insects buzzing]

[chimes tinkling]

STEFANY: We were just living
our life in the suburbs...

just working, being parents.

We had the kids. We had a dog.
We had a house.

You know, we had it all.

I had met my husband in...

it was January of 2006.

And we just really fell hard
for each other.

And a year and a half later,
we got married.

And it was good.

And then about five
and a half years in...

I knew something wasn't right.

He was going out more

telling me that he was...

He'd go
on these weekend getaways

with a friend that he really
didn't talk to that much

so I found that kind of odd.

I know two things in life...

You're gonna die
and to trust your gut.

Your gut never lies.

Watch out, cheaters

or anybody who used
the website Ashley Madison...

Ashley Madison is a website

that connects married people
who want to cheat.

The only news
bigger than Trump

is a sensational data dump.

Computer hackers have leaked
the names and details

of 32 million people.

The hack has resulted

in hate crimes, cyber scams,
even suicides.

Suicides, extortion, divorce.

MALE REPORTER:
Searchable databases

are popping up online

to identify
would-be adulterers.

FEMALE REPORTER: Just type in
a name or email address

and you'll find out
if someone...

[upbeat music]

[smooth jazz music]

[singers vocalizing]

It's the teenage me.

You know, I want
the male attention.

I want the sex and the fun

and the promiscuity.

But I don't want to give up my
marriage or family for that.

It does seem to fill a need

that makes life more tolerable.

I don't want to make it sound

like it's an addiction,
but...

[sighs] It allows me
to function properly.

First dates are
nerve-racking enough.

But when you're meeting someone
who knows that you're married

for probably
the purposes of sex

it just adds an extra layer

of...

of anxiety, I guess.

I have friends who say,
oh, you know

"I haven't been laid
in so long."

I think, "You know what?

"Let me make you
an Ashley Madison profile

"and I'll have you laid
by midnight.

If you're not picky, by noon."

CLAIRE: Before things
like Facebook

things like Myspace

the things that really brought

this concept
of a social network

into the mainstream
of a place where people go

and connect and meet
each other

Ashley Madison launches.

They formed when only
about 59% of the country

was even on the "Internet."

[geese honking]

[car horns honk]

PAUL: In the early 2000s,
online dating was becoming

very popular and accepted.

And our founders
saw some reports

that up 30% of profiles

on these traditional
dating sites

were in fact married people
pretending to be single

looking to have an affair.

And that is the proverbial
light-bulb moment

that said, "Well, what happens
if we created a place

"for adulterers to meet

and be a little bit more
honest with each other?"

The first choice they made
was to call it Ashley Madison.

They wanted to make it
female friendly.

And they chose two names

that were very popular
baby-girl names in 2002...

Ashley and Madison.

There's something
so creepy about that.

[chuckles] If Ashley Madison
named itself

after the two most popular
baby names

of the year that they launched,
that's...

I need a shower.

[glasses clink]

I mean, I just assume
Ashley Madison as a character

is definitely blonde.

-Yeah, yeah.
-Yeah.

-No offense to blondes.
-That's potentially...

That's the whitest name
I've ever heard, is...

-Yeah.
-Ashley Madison?

-Hey, I'm Ashley Madison.
-Yeah.

You're never supposed
to trust somebody

with two first names,
Will Miles.

Wait. [chuckles]

It opened up the possibility

of having
an extramarital affair

for people who might not
have considered it.

Ashley Madison
made it possible

to connect with a whole bunch
of other people

who wanted
the exact same thing

that you do...

which is sort of the catch-22

of the Internet
in general, right?

It's always giving us
exactly what we want

but that's
not always a good thing...

Especially if you
really like shoes.

[telephone ringing]

STEFANY: There would be
these phone calls...

and there'd be
no one on the other end.

[intense music]

I had
a Facebook friend request

from someone I don't know.

And so I messaged her.
I said, "Hey, do I know you?"

And she goes,
"Oh, no. I'm just

"you know, I see
we're both moms.

"I just like to be friends
with other moms

and bounce ideas
off each other."

It was, like,
all these weird things

that were happening

that just didn't make sense.

What is going on?

And then it was December 27th.

My husband left
to go to the grocery store.

And while he was gone,
I get this phone call.

[telephone rings]

And it was this woman
asking to speak to Stefany.

And I said, "This is her."

And she just tells me
she's been having

an affair with my husband
for the last 18 months.

He had told her, "I'm gonna
work things out with my wife."

And she said,
"Oh, hell, no, you're not."

And so
that's why she called me.

I was shaking.
I was just so...

My mouth had gone dry.
My heart was racing.

And I just couldn't believe
what I was hearing.

[thunder rumbling]

And when I asked her
how they met

she wouldn't tell me.

And then for some reason,
I just blurted out

"Was it Ashley Madison?"

And she said, "Yeah."

[upbeat romantic music]

CHARLES:
Ashley Madison works

from a business-model
standpoint because their goal

is not to get you
to leave your marriage.

Their goal is for you
to have an affair

go back to your marriage,
come have another affair.

So it does
what it's supposed to do

from a business perspective.

PAUL: Our business model
has stayed the same

since we launched.

It's a credit-based system
where men come on

purchase a set amount
of credits

to send messages to women.

If you were a woman
seeking men, though

the site was free
for you to use

because those users
were precious.

Ashley Madison
wanted to attract

as many heterosexual women
as they possibly could.

[laughs]

Oh, my God. I have all these
guys messaging me.

And you're just thinking
to yourself

"How can there be
this many guys

looking for an affair?"

MICHAEL: There's a certain
level of excitement

that goes with it.

Even, like, the potential

that there's,
like, some risk there

that's gonna be exciting
to some people.

Being in their home?

That's not really
a fun thing for me

because I glance
over his shoulder

as we're going at it,
and there's his wife

and their wedding pictures
on the wall.

A lot of men will use
a picture of their penis

as their profile photo.

My biggest fear
was that someone I knew

would be on the site.

You know, I was so scared
of seeing a coworker

or, like, a cousin or my dad.
I mean... [chuckles]

Ashley Madison...
[sighs]

Was, like, the least
of many evils.

And even then,
you still shook your hand

with the Devil, because...

everything about that site
is skeezy.

[carnival music]

PAUL:
This was a business

in the business of affairs,
in the business of adultery.

And people were so shocked
and surprised it existed

or even had been conceived

that, you know, there was
a lot of backlash

and a lot of pushback
from the media.

[upbeat music]

[cheers and applause]

So imagine you're
a married man or woman...

Mainstream advertisers
don't want to run their ads

so they can't get the exposure
that they need.

But all that changes
with the arrival of a new CEO.

[audience shouting]

Wow. Okay.

So are you as outraged
as our audience is

or curious and racing
to your computer?

He has no shame in it.

He will go anywhere

to sort of sell this company.

Please welcome one of the
most hated men on the Internet

founder and CEO
of ashleymadison.com

Noel Biderman.

-Welcome, Noel.
-Thank you.

Okay, obviously,
you're hearing

a reaction from our audience

that doesn't sound
too positive.

They've never done
that before, by the way...

-Right. First time ever?
-To anybody.

Once Noel Biderman
became CEO of Ashley Madison

that's when the company
started really getting

a lot of media attention.

The intent of the site is
monogamy is difficult

for a lot of people 'cause
it's not in your DNA.

That's just a fact. We're all
human. It's just not in our DNA.

-Well, it is for a while.
-No. It's not in your DNA.

-So let's just cheat and--
-This is end times.

And so the bottom line is,
in this country in particular

you guys were talking
about it earlier

we put monogamy as this central
tenet of a marriage.

And that might be
really unhealthy.

He knew that his business
was already controversial.

Encouraging people
to have affairs. What?

You can practically see people

clutching their pearls
from that.

Ashley Madison
didn't invent infidelity.

We all know that,
so I'm saying that

instead of having an affair
in the workplace...

Instead of having it
on a singles' dating site

to an unsuspecting person...

Instead of going
to visit an escort

go to a community
like Ashley Madison

where everyone
has the same expectation.

And so he played into that.

Don't avoid it.

Their apparent philosophy was,
"Let's lean into that.

Let's be as in your face
as we can be."

I'm assuming
that if the spouses find out

that this is happening

that it's gonna break up
a lot of marriages.

And you're facilitating that.

MAGGIE: And, of course,
it's advertising, right?

Some people's philosophy is

all publicity
is good publicity.

And, certainly, for somebody
with a business model

based on controversy,

based on, you know,
going against the wind

sure, sure,
that made perfect sense.

He didn't care
hat kind of publicity it was

as long as it got people saying
"Ashley Madison."

But I think people that have
a conscience and a soul

don't want to make their money
this way.

In other words, I might make
money selling drugs

but I wouldn't want
to contribute

to somebody's death and demise.

Where's your soul in this?
Where's your conscience?

It's the same argument.
It's like--

You want to look
the young kids in the eye

when these parents
get a divorce?

It's the same argument
you could make and then say

"Oh, divorce attorneys
are profiting from divorce

and we should get rid
of divorce attorneys."

-It's not logical.
-It's not the same thing.

You have flawed logic
in your point.

It's exactly the same thing.
We know this happens.

I didn't invent infidelity.

It was around a lot longer,
long before Ashley Madison

You are pimping it.

Noel doesn't care

because apparently
his website crashes

and there are tons of people

trying to get
on the Ashley Madison website.

And so he says,
"You may not like me

but your viewers need me."

Are you ever bothered
by what you do for a living?

I've been called pimp,
a virtual drug dealer

the most hated man in America.

I think that all comes back
to the same root.

The topic of infidelity
is vastly misunderstood.

And it was just catnip
for the media

and he just got tons and tons
of press attention.

You've seen this play out.

What does it
make you feel like?

CLAIRE: Sometimes a guest
would come on.

I remember there was
a "Tyra Banks" appearance

where there was a man who...

I guess his wife
had cheated on him.

-When you watch...
-I feel terrible.

This pain, this man's pain.

How do you feel me coming and
kicking your ass right now?

How would you like that?
That's how I feel right now.

I feel like coming
right up there

and knocking you out, bud.

That's my emotions
that are running.

CLAIRE: He was happy
to go on there and do that

and replicated that strategy
over and over

because he knew it would get
attention for Ashley Madison.

You need to learn
to communicate with her better

and find a relationship
that works for the two of you.

That has nothing to do with me.

Noel Biderman is a PR genius.

AMANDA: You can't really
be comparing yourself

to a marriage counselor,
since you are more likely

to break up a marriage
than help it stay together.

Oh, I would disagree
wholeheartedly.

I would say Ashley Madison

saves millions of marriages
through its service.

People don't want
to leave their marriage.

That's why they have an affair.

Noel's high-profile strategy
is high risk.

He, of course, had
a lot of enemies.

They stepped on a lot of toes.

[intense music]

STEFANY: He admitted to it.
He apologized.

[dial tone droning]

But I felt like it
was one of those apologies

that he's more or less upset
he got caught.

I'm yelling at him,
cussing at him

screaming at him.

I come unglued.

To hurt me and our family
so devastatingly

was just so hard to get over.

And then you add
the Ashley Madison layer

on top of it...

I ended up asking my husband
for the username and password.

I just had to see, like,
what is this all about?

And he had a fake name,
and I saw the other woman.

Her pictures were on there.

And she was married,
has three children.

According to his profile

he was really looking forward
to that fun sex

that comes after a hot date.

And he has
a really high sex drive.

He just wanted to feel
that spark again

and that excitement
that you get with new sex.

And so I kick him out.

I'm like, "You need to stay
in a hotel, so go."

And then I went
a little crazy.

I threw a bunch of his stuff
out on the front lawn.

I tore up
his favorite Seahawks jersey.

I just went nuts.

[barks]

I sold my wedding rings
a week later.

That gave me enough money
to pay for a divorce attorney.

I moved out a month later

and I was 41-year-old
single mom

with a 5-year-old.

I remember asking
if he's in love with her.

And he said no.

You know, he said, "I'm never
gonna talk to her again."

And they have been together
almost ten years now.

[elevator bell dings]

In the past few days,
I have begun to atone

for my private failings
with my wife, Silda,

my children,
and my entire family.

I'm deeply sorry
that I did not live up

to what was expected of me.

SUNNY: Eliot Spitzer
was the New York Governor.

He was a crime fighter

and he was married

and a lawyer

and ran on a platform
of family values.

[indistinct chatter]

But we learned that
he was paying women

to have sex with him.

And he found himself
in a heap of trouble.

[indistinct chatter]

He shouldn't go
and maybe solicit prostitutes.

He could have gone
on a service like ours.

So Ashley Madison takes out
a full-page ad

in the "New York Post"

which is read by everyone,
by the way.

And it says, "We hate to say
we told you so

but you should have used
ashleymadison.com."

A lot of people thought
that our approach

to sending this kind of
open mail, open email

to the state of New York
and to him

was, you know, innovative.

I mean, genius?

Mad genius?

Really horrible person?

I don't know.

But at that point,
no one liked Eliot Spitzer.

But people knew now
about Ashley Madison.

[laughter]

PAUL: One of the other ways
we had to look

at promoting our business
was through billboards.

It was a great way
to reach a broad audience

that both reached
the consumer directly

but also reached the media.

And, yes,
they were provocative

and humor
was always at the core.

♪ Make me hot baby ♪♪

CLAIRE: They would often
run billboards

congratulating the person
for having an affair.

I remember they did that
with Newt Gingrich.

And the media
would run a news story

with a big shot
of the billboard on TV.

Everyone who watched
that segment

just saw free advertising
for Ashley Madison

and kept it fresh
on everyone's mind.

♪ Oh yeah
you're the best baby ♪♪

When I first started
working there, it was exciting.

It was new.

I was fresh-faced, bright-eyed

bushy-tailed, ready to go.

Hello.

No, no, I'm not busy.

Our approach to creating ads

it was more
for the shock value.

And the crazier they were,
the better.

[chuckles]

WOMAN 1:
Have you ever found yourself

on a really bad blind date?

[phone beeping]

WOMAN 1:
Now imagine that date

lasting the rest of your life.

We would sit down
and just sort of...

shit out ideas
until something looked fun.

Yeah. I have to go.
[clears throat]

Happy anniversary, honey.

Essentially it was, you know

just balls to the wall
to crazy town

and get something out
that would generate

as much interest and shock
as possible

and really just get people
to go to the site.

Whether or not they signed up,
we just want that click.

[snoring]

MAN 1:
Most of us can recover

from a one-night stand
with the wrong woman.

Those Ashley Madison ads
work, obviously.

WILL: Yeah.
-Because that programming...

especially into men,
that, like

"Oh, the old ball and chain"...

MAN 1: [chuckles]
But not when it's every night

for the rest of our lives.

"I'm trapped
with this dumb bitch," like--

That one-night-stand one
for sure, yeah.

MAN 1: Isn't it time
for ashleymadison.com?

No, absolutely didn't care
if they get banned.

For us, it was almost, like,
a point of pride...

[laughs]
Because if you did an ad

then got pulled,
it was like, "Yeah."

[chuckles]

[growls]

[growls]

CHRIS:
We were clever.

And we had a lot of fun
just throwing ideas

at the wall
and see what sticks.

[snoring]

CHRIS: Were our ads always
designed to be controversial?

Almost always.

Because shock and awe
were how we got

our audience
in the first place.

All of these
shocking advertisements

help Ashley Madison
break into mainstream

but they still have a problem.

You still have to log in
through your personal computer

which means
your browser history

can be seen
by anybody in your household.

But a product
is about to launch

that will be a game-changer
for Ashley Madison.

And iPod, a phone...

[laughter]

And an internet communicator.

An iPod, a phone...

[cheers and applause]

Are you getting it?

[cheers and applause continue]

These are not
three separate devices.

This is one device.

[cheers and applause]

And we are calling it iPhone.

CHARLES: Steve Jobs,
unbeknownst to him

changed the entire world
of dating.

And this is where, I think

Ashley Madison
really flourished

is because when you have
access on your laptop

you have to be sneaky.

But when you have access
on your phone

all you have to do is
go to the bathroom

and lock the door.

So for keeping privacy

I don't make it
overly complicated, alright?

The more overly complicated
you make something

the more likely you are
to screw up.

So you just have to be
comfortable

with the fact that at any time
you could get caught.

He hadn't told me
about his video doorbell.

So his wife watched me
come to the door, knock

and go inside.

And so
we're sitting there naked

and she calls him,
and she's all

"Hi. Who was that girl
at the door?"

I made a real effort

to never message
in front of him.

Like, every time
I went to the bathroom

or every time
that he left the room

well, I was on my phone
messaging my lovers.

But I was very careful

to not do it in front of him.

By the way...

it's sometimes amazing to me
that I've been able

to keep this quiet
for as long as I have.

♪ ♪

NOEL:
To us, the perfect affair

is meeting someone
and not being discovered.

And so we have built
the product that gears

towards the not being
discovered

unlike if you used, say,
Facebook to have an affair.

The fascinating thing
about this business

is that in order
for it to work

discretion and privacy are key.

And the more
the company grows

the more difficult it becomes

to keep this data secret.

NOEL: The anonymous way
you sign up

the discreet nature
of our communication platform

the billing being secretive

and, ultimately, things
like our ghost delete

which allows you to recall

every message
or photo you've ever shared

and we even blow it off
our own servers

which, by the way,
sit in a remote location

kind of untouchable.

So I think we do everything
we can to protect privacy.

Was security lax?
Yeah.

I had a friend in IT

who would consistently complain
about the lax security

and how easy it would be
for someone to get past it.

I don't know
if it was not a priority

or just it was not
cost-effective

but whatever was not done
was never done.

"No one's gonna hack us.

That just doesn't happen
in the corporate world."

CEOs are not necessarily
responsible

for everything that happens
at a company.

Sometimes they're figureheads.

But he became the company
and reveled in it.

Shh.

He became the face
of Ashley Madison.

They became one and the same.

He felt like a winner.

COREY: So I went the opposite
route with dinner.

I went for the humble caponata

topped with the least-expensive
fish I could find

which was mackerel,
which is a great fish.

And that's what we're gonna
top it with now

little fried mackerel.

PAOLA:
A very close friend of mine

who, at the time,
was a food columnist

was doing a regular column

where he had, you know,
a range of notable people

come to his house for dinner
and he would make them dinner

and record the conversation

and then write something
about it.

So Ashley Madison said

"Would you like to have
our CEO, Noel, and his wife

"come over to dinner
at your house?

And you can chat
and write a story."

And so he messaged me and said,
"Hey, so the Ashley Madison guy

"wants to come to dinner
in my house.

Do you want to come?"

I mean, who's gonna turn
that down?

The menu was affordable,
everyday food.

So he had, like, nachos
and all of these things.

PAOLA: Are the truffles going
on the nachos?

COREY: No.

NOEL: Let's do that!

And so Noel
and his wife showed up

with another woman with them.

And she had
this plastic cooler.

And all of a sudden,
she opens it up

and puts out
all of these truffles

and the little tiny scale.

And then he bought...

I actually don't know
how much money's worth

of truffles he bought, but it
was delicious, actually

and possibly
the most expensive nachos

I've ever eaten in my life.

COREY: What does marriage mean
to both of you?

They were actually really
open and friendly guests.

And he let himself be grilled

over nachos and wine.

NOEL: Well, we, I'm hoping still
centralize

our marriage around
monogamy.

That's the expectation we have
of one another.

I don't know if that's
the right expectation

and I certainly don't believe
it's necessarily the healthiest

thing anymore for people.
I think it causes strain.

I think the data's pretty
evident that couples

who remove
that strain of monogamy

they just don't seek out divorce
nearly as often as couples

who seems to cling to monogamy.

So, it's just fascinating.

He is a very persuasive person.

And he says things
with such conviction

and he makes his arguments

in a way that, you know,
makes it sound like

"Of course this
is the rational explanation.

"And anybody
who doesn't understand that

is just missing the point
entirely."

Please welcome
Noel and Amanda Biderman.

Welcome.

Noel, you're actually
a real-life hot topic.

PAOLA:
It was really interesting

because Noel has been
the kind of figurehead

for this company,
the public face of it.

And often
he would bring his wife.

BEVERLY: Is there any other
dinner conversation

that you're able to have when
you're at a friend's house?

No, this seems to be
the topic of choice.

BEVERLY: Yeah, I'm thinking.
-Yeah.

Well, you're
an interesting person.

-Oh, thank you.
-That's not fair.

PAOLA: I remember her talking
about how stressful

an experience
that was for her

to have to be there
with your husband

who is being made to be

the poster child
for infidelity essentially.

The point is,
is that it's a business

and it's really separate
from our life.

I'm really troubled
by the fact

that he gets his wife involved.

Now he's blurred the line

between his own family

and this tawdry business.

Amanda,
though you don't believe

that infidelity
is a good thing ultimately

you are involved
with this company.

You weren't in the beginning,
but you're now the face

of the advertising for it.

And then there you are.

So if you thought smoking was
bad for you, would you appear

on a billboard
that promotes smoking?

So where was the shift
for you in terms--

I think I would.
It's a business.

I think
if you polled the audience

everybody's gonna say
they disagree with cheating.

I mean, people don't do it
and don't believe in it.

So, you know,
having myself up there

in my mind, it's gonna spawn
on some conversations

amongst married people

who don't even talk
about this issue.

CHARLES:
Infidelity is a huge trigger.

The moral police come out
the moment you say it.

TIGER WOODS: I was unfaithful.
I had affairs.

I cheated.

What I did is not acceptable.

Ashley Madison took
some incredible risks

using public figures
and tying into the news.

MALE REPORTER:
It's all very messy.

This new report from
the Florida Highway Patrol

shows Woods' car
plowed into bushes

a curb, a fire hydrant

and then a neighbor's tree
before stopping.

And these new photos
of the crash site

show the damaged tree

and the window his wife said

she bashed in
with a golf club.

Probably thought he was
a better guy than he is, then.

And I would probably
just have to apologize to her

and hope she uses a driver
next time and then a 3-iron.

CHRIS: Is there a limit
to the things we would market

for our own gain?

No.

If it could generate
revenue and shock

let's give it a go.

When there was a prominent
sex scandal in the news

one thing that they often did
was offer to make the person

a paid spokesperson
for Ashley Madison.

It didn't matter
if they ever accepted

if they had any interest
in doing that at all.

Just the fact that they said
they had made the offer to them

would be enough
for the media to pick up on it

and run a story.

MAN 2:
Howard Stern presents

The Tiger Woods'
"Mistress Beauty Pageant."

I didn't know
it was gonna be this good.

And you girls all look hot
with these bathing suits.

And, Jesus Christ,
this guy was having some party.

Do you miss him?

I do.

CHARLES: The stunts
that Ashley Madison pulled

I would call
that type of marketing

brilliant,
parasitic advertising.

Here's our guest judge,
Noel Biderman.

He bought his way
into the contest.

But the dude put up 100 grand.

It's the American way
to buy your way

into these kinds of events,
isn't it?

If you have to tie
into somebody else's pain

to raise yourself up...

No, come on.
That's just bad.

Again, I need a,
I just need a second shower.

It's just bad.

HOWARD: You are Tiger Woods'
mistress. You are.

Here comes Noel Biderman
with a check for $75,000.

What do you want to say, Noel,
from ashleymadison.com?

How ironic
that Ashley Madison

can bring some comfort
to a mistress left in the dust.

But, you know, I'm happy
to do it.

There's no bar for him.

Everything's on the floor.

He doesn't know what low is.

He will do anything
to sell his product.

CLAIRE:
Noel liked to paint a picture

that people were coming
to Ashley Madison

from hearing about it from his
various publicity stunts.

In reality, Pornhub
and other affiliated sites

were big drivers
for new sign-ups.

MAGGIE:
It doesn't surprise me

that he took
them out on Pornhub.

I mean, why wouldn't he?

The guy is watching porn.
He gets horny.

"Oh, look, Ashley Madison.
Maybe I'll join up."

You know, thinking
with the little head.

It was a lot of leaning
into the male fantasy.

They were the ones
who forked out the cash

and therefore they were
the ones we had to target.

In one month in 2011

70,000 new male members
were reached through MindGeek.

MindGeek owns sites
like Pornhub and others

a very big pornography
conglomerate.

When you look
at the membership detail

for 2015

you can see that there are
27.5 million men

and just over 4 million women.

[sighs]
It's astonishing.

Women were the bait

and men were the fish
that needed to be caught.

Everything was geared
around monetizing men

off of the back of women.

I messaged some people,
and I bought some credits.

It became apparent
quite quickly

that there wasn't a glut
of lonely women.

It feels like you're
among a sea of men

all heads bobbing around
and waving.

And there's one or two
desert islands

a lady with a few thousand men
to pick from.

I definitely
had to interact with

or send messages
to fake profiles.

You know, you try to figure out

what is most likely
a fake profile.

And very often that can be,
like, photos that seem unreal

too glossy.

It doesn't seem likely
that somebody's

having professional
pictures taken

so they can put it
on their profile

for Ashley Madison, you know?

[glasses clink]

JEREMY: If you're trying
to entice men to spend money

you need to have a product.

And the product
was women profiles.

What I discovered
was that there are

hundreds of thousands
of fake female profiles.

CHRIS: Was I suspicious
about the number

of real women on the site?

Absolutely.
From start to finish.

We would do profiles
that we were going to use

for advertisements
and the like

which would then end up
getting put on the site, too.

And then you would see
these profiles and go like

"Wait a minute."

[chuckles]
"This looks oddly familiar."

And that was the beginning
of my going

"This is kind of weird.
Why are we doing this?"

CHARLES:
So let's face it

it was only going to be
a matter of time

before a group
of frustrated men

were going to start complaining

about their experiences
on Ashley Madison.

FILIPPO:
In my field

it's always the
"David versus Goliath" battle.

We always go
against big companies.

And Ashley Madison looked
like a viable case.

Ashleymadisonsucks.com
was a place

for people to voice
their displeasure

with Ashley Madison.

And the owner
of ashleymadisonsucks.com

began receiving attacks.

Someone emailed him

pretending to be
his girlfriend.

They emailed his girlfriend
pretending to be him.

And it just became

very violent verbally,
very bully-ish.

[train rumbling]

And I decided to get involved
and to stand up for them.

There were threats
made against me

against my family at the time.

I was called a wetback.

I was called an immigrant.

A lot of sexual innuendos
were put in posts.

There was
a significant period of time

where myself and my ex-wife
moved out of our house.

We were scared
that somebody was gonna hurt

either us or our dogs.

And every time you'd see
a car park near your house

that you didn't recognize,
it was scary.

There was quite a bit
of hiding

and spoofing
that was going on...

meaning that these attacks

were coming
from unknown sources.

[distant siren wails]

Ashley Madison had started

a trademark infringement claim

against ashleymadisonsucks.com.

But we quickly showed
that it was legal

to have a complaints website.

And there was
a separate attempt

to close down
ashleymadisonsucks.com

NOEL: Give me the URL back.
It's my domain.

or I'm gonna make your life
miserable for you.

I'm going to make you miserable
like you've never felt before.

A phone call
between Noel Biderman

and the owner
of the website...

NOEL: So don't be a schmuck.

Give it back. I offered you ten
grand, you're being an ass.

NOEL: I didn't do anything to
anybody.

I sent you a message saying
call me.

In this phone call

Mr. Biderman
outright threatened him.

NOEL: You're a little punk.
You're a punk.

You have my URL, you have my
brand.

Take the money and go away, or

I'm gonna do whatever
I need to do

to make you regret ever
messing with me.

Just wait for the world of hurt
I bring on you. Just wait.

You can make a choice.

Either you're gonna go
after this guy

and this company
and try to do what's right

but lose everything
you have...

or pull back.

And it's a bullying tactic.

And, unfortunately,
at the time, it worked.

MAGGIE: I discovered
that Ashley Madison

had bought the domain.

Ashley Madison Sucks

and expanded the site
with positive testimonials.

That's brilliant. It was a
brilliant business model.

Unethical as hell
but brilliant.

Ashley Madison should be able
to prosper

no matter where it plants
its flag.

By 2009, they're doing
extremely well.

And so now it's time
to rule the world.

Now it's time
to go international.

There's really no marketplace

that we can't see us
expanding into.

They wanted to do what
every tech company wants to do

which is scale.

We're on a quick race

to about $200 million
in annual sales.

With out profit margin,
that makes us

an extremely valuable
property.

They felt
that they were unstoppable

and that Ashley Madison

was untouchable.

FILIPPO: Let's just say
that if you do bad things

bad things will happen to you.

Yeah, karma's a bitch.

It's Monday morning.

Some of our teams
open up their laptops

and there was a message.

Somebody wanted us
to shut our business down.

"Shut it down."

Fuck you.

[laughing]

If I saw the man

who is in charge
of Ashley Madison right now

I'd say "Fuck you.
How do you sleep at night?

"Your site's disgusting
and gross

"and it hurts
a lot of innocent people.

"I don't care what you say.

I think
you're a horrible human being."