Fact Check

Scaramucci Posts Nude Photos of His Wife as Revenge for Divorce?

A satire site used news of disarray at the White House to push a false story about the new communications director.

Published July 31, 2017

 (World Economic Forum / FLICKR)
Image Via World Economic Forum / FLICKR
Claim:
Anthony Scaramucci posted nude photographs of his wife in order to get revenge for her filing for divorce.

On 29 July 2017, the web site Nevada County Scooper published an article claiming that White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had posted online nude photographs of his wife, Deidre Ball, shortly after she filed for divorce:

Senior Advisor to the President, Anthony Scaramucci is no stranger to controversy. From the beginning of his career at Goldman Sachs to his recent successful selling of global investment firm Skybridge Capital, Scaramucci has been in the gilded spotlight. The spotlight that he is currently in may be more than he bargained for.

Scaramucci’s wife, Deidre Ball, filed for divorce citing her husband’s “blind political ambition” as her main reason for leaving him. Scaramucci has hit back by posting nude pictures of Ball to his Twitter account earlier this evening, posting “Now everyone can see her ‘blind’ ambition.” The pictures show Ball completely nude in very suggestive poses, obviously meant to be kept private.

The article came after a week of controversy in which the newly-appointed communications director made an expletive-laden phone call to a New Yorker reporter and accused then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus of leaking information to the press. By the following day, Priebus had resigned his post and Scaramucci's wife had filed for divorce.

After a week like that, it might be difficult to discern real news stories about Scaramucci from rumors, gossip, and fake news. However, this story, like everything else Nevada County Scooper publishes, is false. The Nevada County Scooper's "manifesto" calls its content "satirical":

What is the Nevada County Scooper?

First off, what kind of dolt reads a manifesto? Answer we do and apparently so do you. So congrats.

The Scooper is a satirical website is in scope and intent. Sometimes it’s funny; often it is not. in scope and intent. It provides social criticism in a satirical, sometimes news-genre setting. We are not a “fake news” site, but rather an entertainment one. Sometimes it’s just plain-old crappy writing with a few bad jokes. Our intention is not to fool or trick anyone, but obviously it happens. We firmly believe that you can soften a person’s willingness to listen by injecting irony, and yes sometimes humor, into the conversation.

Sources

Rogers, Katie.   "A Divorce Report Caps Scaramucci’s Explosive First Week on the Job."     New York Times.   31 July 2017.

Schuster, Dana.   "Scaramucci’s Fed-Up Wife Filed for Divorce While Nine Months Pregnant."     New York Post.   29 July 2017.

Pasha-Robinson, Lucy.   "Anthony Scaramucci Texted ‘I’ll Pray for our Child’ to his Wife After Missing Birth of their Son."     The Independent.   30 July 2017.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.