Webworm with David Farrier
Webworm with David Farrier
Tickled: What Happened to David D'Amato's Millions?
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Tickled: What Happened to David D'Amato's Millions?

Webworm can finally reveal the outcome of a 7 year long court battle over D'Amato's empire.

Hi,

This is an audio interview I did on July 11, 2024 at 6.20am — New Zealand to New York time zones are not kind.

I’ve been trying to have this conversation for about seven years now, but it was impossible due to ongoing litigation in various United States courts, including the New York State Supreme Court.

Let me explain.

David D’Amato (the “big bad” in Tickled) died from a heart attack back on March 13, 2017. He left behind a legacy of tickling videos and online harassment, along with a couple of cats and tens of millions of dollars.

David D'Amato attends an LA screening of Tickled.
David D’Amato surprises us by attending an LA screening of Tickled back in 2016.

I noticed that one of the key people named in D’Amato’s will (as you’ll know from the film, we had a trove of documents from D’Amato’s computer) was Robert Maher. So back then, out of sheer curiosity, I dropped him an email.

To my surprise, he replied:

“Although counsel will absolutely kill me — as long as you give me your word that our conversation would be “so far off the record” that I could say I never met you — I would be willing to chat with you.

If you keep me totally out of this — I can certainly tell you about the other Dave that I met back in 1988. The David that emerged in your film was the antithesis of the one I knew.”

Now, Robert Maher is very happy to talk to me.

Me and Rob Maher chatting
Robert Maher tells me all the things I didn’t know about David D’Amato.

But seven years ago, everything was very much off the record. So, discreetly, we started talking over the phone, and eventually face-to-face after a long train ride north of New York city.

I discovered a man who knew a very different side to David D’Amato. A man who’d given D’Amato his first job in education, and gone on to become friends with him and his family.

So while D’Amato was suing me and Dylan Reeve in two US Courts, and showing up at screenings to threaten Dylan, Robert Maher was there getting the other side to it all.

D'Amato sitting in a screening of Tickled
D'Amato sitting watching Tickled in LA - an event that made it onto ABC’s Nightline.

When D’Amato died, it was Robert Maher who gave the eulogy.

And when he found out he’d been named in D’Amato’s will as an alternate executor, he ended up in a court battle for seven years.

His aim was to carry out the wishes of D’Amato’s father — to use that money to establish a foundation that would help people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

But, as is the case when tens of millions of dollars is up for grabs, a number of people wanted that money for themselves — including Dotty, the frail voice you hear at the very end of Tickled.

Me on phone
The final scene in Tickled, as I talk to Dotty.

And so in his death, D’Amato unknowingly kicked off something very D’Amato: A lot of litigation.

But last month, a judge made his final ruling.

And Robert Maher could go on the record and chat about all things David D’Amato. He paints a side of D’Amato we never got to see in the film — and fills in a lot of gaps about what happened as we made and released Tickled.

He puts to bed the rumour D’Amato faked his death, and speaks on the strangest friend he ever had.

“Everyone has a dark side. The goal, I think, as human beings is to push away or control as best you can the dark side. Keep the good side 23.5 hours a day — and keep that dark side for the half hour when you sound asleep, when we can do no harm.”

See you in the comments.

David.


This edition if free to share using this link:

https://www.webworm.co/p/what-happened-to-david-damatos-millions.

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PS: During our conversation, Maher mentioned photos showing his legal team vs their legal team. These are the photos:

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