Following the release of his new book, “In Real Life: Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age,” Catfish host Nev Schulman is accused of being less than honest about his own past… Specifically involving the incident that got him kicked out of college.
In the book, Nev recalled punching a “short, stocky, crew-cut-styled” woman in the face during an event at Sarah Lawrence in 2006.
I decided to photograph the school’s annual Sleaze Ball, a night of debauchery, drugs, and girls dressed primarily in lingerie. While I was photographing, an individual who didn’t like that I was taking pictures attempted to tackle me and smash my camera on the ground. Since the camera was attached to a strap around my neck, I found myself in a very unpleasant situation, much like a dog with a choke collar. In an effort to free myself, I punched the person and ran off; when I returned minutes later, I discovered that the short, stocky, crew-cut-styled individual that I’d fought with was a woman—a fact I hadn’t been aware of in the heat of the moment. The next thing I knew, I’d been arrested.
In the passage, excerpted by Vulture, Nev went on to say the case was quickly dismissed but the college “took the opportunity to toss me out once and for all.”
Even though he wasn’t allowed to complete his degree, Nev has since earned quite a big platform — which he used earlier this week to condemn violence against women.
However, the victim, who spoke with Vulture on the condition of anonymity, has a very different version of what happened in 2006. According to her, she felt like Nev was exploiting the LGBT couples at the dance by taking their pictures without permission. She said she calmly confronted him to ask him to stop.
“I didn’t tackle him and I certainly didn’t choke him with his camera strap. I tapped his shoulder and he turned and hit me out of nowhere,” she said. “I went down and he held me in a head lock and repeatedly punched me while I tried to get free. The impact broke my glasses and the rest of the night was a blur.”
She explained she spoke with the police that night before going home.
“When I woke up the next day, my face was bruised, I was hurt, and a friend urged me to go to the hospital,” she said. In a Facebook post from the time of the incident, she reportedly explained she was prescribed painkillers to cope with the serious headache she experienced as a result of Nev “pounding his closed fist into my temple about six times.”
As for why the charges were dismissed, the woman said the college’s legal services advised her not to press charges because she “didn’t have any broken bones.” She added, “I also felt intimidated because his lawyer had been waiting for me in the parking lot after my legal meeting. I didn’t talk to him but it was clear that Nev’s family had the means to drag me through a lengthy court case. As an LBGT financial aid student I didn’t think the chance of getting justice looked good.”
The woman’s version of events was corroborated by at least four witnesses present at the dance. One also recalled the severity of the woman’s injuries were much worse than Nev now claims.
“Her eye was bruised and swollen, and there was a cut on her nose,” one of the witnesses said in a Tumblr post. “Like, this was no bulls**t punch, he pretty much f**ked her up.”
Ken Schneck, a former Sarah Lawrence administrator, confirmed Nev was involved in the incident but said he couldn’t elaborate on how it all played out. However, he added, “All I can say on the record, as the former Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, is that he was a condescending, entitled, reprehensible tool.”
