Finally, the "Skanks in NYC" saga has come to an end. After a judge's order earlier this week, the identity of the anonymous blogger who called model Liskula Cohen a "ho," "skank bitch" and "#1 skanky superstar" was revealed, and -- surprise! -- it's a girl. We may be rather accustomed to seeing women's sexual reputations maligned online by men, but let's not forget the brutality of girl-on-girl crime. Rosemary Port, an unemployed 29-year-old who formerly did telemarketing and club promotion, used to run in Cohen's social circle and allegedly created the vicious blog as retribution for some unsavory things the 37-year-old model had said about her.
On Thursday, with her anonymous bully's name in hand, Cohen filed a $3 million defamation suit, alleging "libel and intentional emotional distress." But by nightfall she told her lawyer to call it off, according to the New York Post. "This is about forgiveness," she said. "It adds nothing to my life to hurt hers. I wish her happiness." How very big of her. (Although she delivered a swift blow by telling Andrea Peyser that she was relieved "it was not someone I respected.") So, the feverish speculation about how the lawsuit would play out and what it might mean for the innumerable anonymous haters across the Web is all for naught.
I can't help but wonder whether her detractor's gender influenced Cohen's decision to drop the case. When the "slut" insult is hurled at a woman by another woman, so often it's assumed that mere jealousy is at play -- it isn't serious, it's just girls being "catty." If a man is behind it, though, it's more likely to be taken as a serious indictment of a woman's character; it packs a bigger punch.
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