Brooklyn Comedian Slapped with Record $30M Revenge Porn Verdict

Clear Facts

• A New York court has ordered a Brooklyn comedian, Ryan Broems, to pay $30 million to his ex-girlfriend, Spring Chenoa Cooper, a professor at the City University of New York, for a prolonged revenge porn campaign.
• This is the largest verdict awarded for such a case in the state’s history, setting a precedent for future victims.
• Despite the verdict, Cooper does not expect to receive any of the settlement but hopes the ruling will encourage other victims to seek justice.

A Brooklyn comedian, Ryan Broems, has been ordered by a New York court to pay a staggering $30 million to his ex-girlfriend, Spring Chenoa Cooper, a professor at the City University of New York. This landmark ruling comes after Broems’ prolonged revenge porn campaign against Cooper, marking the largest verdict ever awarded in such a case in New York’s history.

Cooper, 43, expressed to Fox News Digital that she does not anticipate receiving any of the settlement. However, she emphasized the importance of the precedent this ruling sets for future victims. “I hope that people see this and realize that there are paths to justice and also that the public does view this as something that isn’t acceptable,” Cooper said. “[Being victimized] is not something that you should be ashamed about, [and non-consensually sharing intimate images] is not something that you can hide from.”

Broems, who did not hire an attorney to represent him, was absent from court when the verdict was announced. Cooper’s attorney, Cali Madia of Daniel Szalkiewicz & Associates, confirmed this to Fox News Digital.

The ordeal began in 2017 when Cooper ended her relationship with Broems. Following the breakup, Broems began sending explicit Snapchat videos and messages to Cooper, demanding intimate details of her life. The situation escalated when Cooper started receiving threatening messages from a Tumblr handle, followed by strangers informing her that her nude images and personal information had been posted online.

“In those moments, my life would stop,” Cooper recalled in her sworn testimony. “No matter where I was, who I was with or what my plans were for the day, my focus needed to immediately be finding the content and advocating for its removal because, as I came to learn, the longer the content is allowed to remain online, the more it will propagate.”

Despite obtaining a restraining order against Broems, her nude photos continued to surface online. Broems, in turn, used Twitter to ridicule Cooper. Despite numerous successful pleas to Tumblr and other online platforms to remove the images, new ones appeared at least 11 times. Cooper referred to 2018 as “the year of revenge porn.”

Cooper’s case was the first civil suit filed under New York City’s revenge porn statute. This law allows victims to sue for money damages, legal fees, and injunctions to block postings. It also includes a criminal component, providing for up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for those who commit the crime.

In 2021, Broems pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of disclosure of an intimate image in criminal court. He was given a no-jail sentence of 26 weeks attending a program for abusive partners. However, Cooper felt this was not enough. “I was never allowed a day in court and was never able to confront him for what he had done to me… [he] paid no fines and served no jail time for what he did… while [he] has been allowed to move on with his life, I… continue to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of fear,” Cooper said in her testimony.

Cooper hopes that her experience will help others understand the gravity of “cyber sexual assault” and learn how to properly support its victims. “What I first want everyone to understand is that a cyber sexual assault is a sexual assault,” Cooper said. “The mental and emotional things that people go through are the same. I want society to know that and take it seriously. That’s how the survivors will be able to come out and access support. When other people around them don’t know that or victim blame or aren’t able to recognize what this is, the survivors aren’t able to get the support they need.”

A 2020 study by the American Psychological Association estimates that one in 12 adults will be the victim of non-consensual pornography – or revenge porn – in their lifetime. Cooper, who has joined New York’s Cyber Abuse Task Force, believes that victims who engage in advocacy are more likely to emotionally recover from their trauma in these types of cases.

Clear Thoughts (op-ed)

The landmark $30 million revenge porn ruling in favor of Spring Chenoa Cooper is a necessary step toward establishing justice for victims of cyber sexual assault. It sends a strong message that this type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

While Cooper may not receive the settlement, her courage to pursue justice will undoubtedly inspire other victims to come forward and seek the help they need. This case highlights the importance of recognizing and supporting victims of revenge porn and other forms of cyber abuse.

The fact that one in 12 adults will experience non-consensual pornography in their lifetime is a sobering reminder that we must continue to fight against this disturbing trend. As a society, we must prioritize the mental and emotional wellbeing of victims and work together to put an end to this heinous crime.

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