Josh Duggar Sued For Swiping ‘Random Guy’s’ Pic To Cheat (WITH VIDEO)

The OKCupid profile created by Josh Duggar after swiping an innocent man's picture (image courtesy Inquisitr via OKCupid)
The OKCupid profile created by Josh Duggar after swiping an innocent man’s picture (image courtesy Inquisitr via OKCupid)

Unlike a number of liberal bloggers, I was initially inclined to go easy on Josh Duggar when it emerged he’d molested his sisters as a teenager. After all, he admitted what he did, and I believed the hackles should be reserved for his parents for failing to get him help. But that changed after it emerged he’d been swiping innocent guys’ pictures off the Internet to use them on his profiles for dating sites while cheating on his now-wife, Anna. In so doing, he not only put his relationship and marriage at risk, but put the reputations of the real people behind those pics in astronomical danger.

Well, the bill may be about to come due for Josh’s self-absorbed behavior. One of the men victimized by Josh swiping his picture is suing him. You may recall that when Josh created profiles under the alias “Joe Smithson” on OKCupid, Ashley Madison, and Twitter, he did a search for “random guy” on Google Images and swiped one of the images that came up.

That image turned out to be a picture of Los Angeles DJ Matthew McCarthy, who had his picture swiped in 2010 and uploaded to a blog under the title “Random Guy from Facebook.” He only learned about it when one of his teachers tipped him off. Since then, McCarthy’s life has been left in tatters–and he holds Josh responsible.

On Thursday, he sued Josh for defamation and wrongful use of his picture, and is seeking undisclosed damages. Watch the Young Turks discuss the suit here.

McCarthy lost at least one gig after it emerged that Josh was using his picture to cheat. In his complaint, he contends that he has found it difficult to find work, as many clubs have shied away from him due to his perceived ties to America’s most famous babymakers. He’s also been bombarded with messages calling him “Duggar’s boy toy” and “DJ Duggar.”

All of this has taken a toll on McCarthy’s psyche. As a result of Duggar’s “extreme and outrageous” swiping of his picture with “full and deliberate disregard for the consequences,” McCarthy says he has suffered

“prolonged pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of self-esteem and extreme and severe mental anguish and emotional distress including but not limited to frequent panic attacks, disruption of sleep and insomnia, mood changes, fits of anger, a loss of interest in pursuing both professional and personal endeavors, and a complete loss of self-confidence.”

McCarthy also says that he fully expects to be “shunned, avoided, embarrassed, and subject to ridicule” as a result of Josh’s actions, and claims that his family has been harassed as well.

I’ve been hoping that Josh would be forced to explain under oath why he even thought swiping an innocent man’s picture was remotely okay. After all, based on what we now know, he was actively trolling for affairs for the better part of a decade, from 2004 to 2014–including his entire courtship with Anna, and well into their marriage. That’s bad enough, but to knowingly and willfully use an innocent man’s picture to facilitate your cheating is absolutely heinous. How many innocent guys have had their lives ruined by a bottom-feeding catfish swiping their pictures?

Josh has blamed his debauchery on “external forces.” If Josh peddles that excuse in court, then the only debate will be how big the damages will be. It will only prove that he is as much of a self-absorbed jerk as Donald Trump. Indeed, the only thing we need to hear from Josh on this issue is a full apology to McCarthy and anyone else whom he victimized by swiping their pictures.

My heart goes out to McCarthy. He and his family didn’t deserve to suffer because a self-absorbed one-percenter got the bright idea to use your picture to cheat. But this isn’t just about him. This is about every other guy who has been victimized in this way. The signal must go out–you cannot put innocent third parties at risk in this way and do so with impunity.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.