LOS ANGELES — Hunter Moore has sold his immensely popular revenge/identity-porn website, IsAnyoneUp.com, for an undisclosed sum to James McGibney, founder of anti-bullying site BullyVille.com.
Moore, who claimed to make upwards of $13,000 a month by posting the nude pictures submitted to IsAnyoneUp.com by angry, vengeful exes and exhibitionist alike next to a screen capture of their Facebook profile, cites running cost, fatigue and change-of-heart as reasons for the sale.
“The bills were getting too insane and I had to turn to the porn game for extra money but it’s too shady and, in my opinion, it ruined the site. That and my appearance on Anderson Cooper didn’t help,” Moore wrote in his goodbye letter now posted on BullyVille.com.
“The site was a blessing for me and still is," Moore continued, "but I am burned out and I honestly can’t take another underage kid getting submitted and having to go through the process of reporting it and dealing with all the legal drama of that situation.”
McGibney, who in addition to BullyVille.com owns and operates CheaterVille.com, a website where the romantically jilted can anonymously out those who betrayed them, wrote in a statement on BullyVille.com Thursday afternoon, “The problem of IsAnyoneUp.com is now solved. In its place, BullyVille.com will exist to help people who are being bullied solve their problems through cooperation and thoughtfulness, rather than abuse."
Hip to comparisons between IsAnyoneUp.com and his own CheaterVille.com, McGibney also wrote, “One of my companies, CheaterVille.com, is constantly accused of bullying. I disagree, as do the millions of people who use its free service. CheaterVille.com provides a public service to people by warning them about the narcissistic and predatory individuals who use online dating sites to find innocent victims.”
McGibney also told Gawker.com on Thursday that he had received “5,000 emails from mothers and daughters that are really happy the site [IsAnyoneUp.com] is down.”
Moore, according to his farewell message, said he may do some writing on BullyVille.com to help bullied kids, noting that, “I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I am putting this message up on Bullyville.com to stand up for underage bullying. I think it’s important that everyone realizes the damage that online bullying can cause.”
Moore also had a message to those exposed on IsAnyoneUp.com, "Anybody that was ever posted, where it's been ruining your life or your job, everything is completely wiped. You're good."