MANDEL: Divorced porn stars bring defamation lawsuit to Ontario Court of Appeal

Ottawa-based Amanda Nagy and L.A. ex-husband Zak Smith were profiled in mainstream magazines before fallout and legal battle

Published Jul 29, 2026  •  3 minute read

Zak Smith, aka Zak Sabbath (left) and Amanda Nagy, aka Mandy Morbid.

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source

Article content

Warring porn stars are not your typical players before Ontario’s highest court.

Article content

Article content

Amanda Nagy, aka Mandy Morbid, is a former model and adult film performer who lives in Ottawa; her ex-husband Zak Smith, aka Zak Sabbath, is an American artist, tabletop role-playing game (“RPG”) creator and porn performer who lives in L.A.

The couple met in 2006 when she was 21 and he was 29. She moved to the U.S., they married in 2007 and had a polyamorous relationship with other women while they released online shows about their RPG activities together, collaborated on porn films and she posed for his artwork.

They were profiled in mainstream magazines, such as the 2012 Playing Dungeons and Dragons with Pornstars article in Maxim that detailed their world where “sex freaks are fantasy geeks” and described Nagy as “a tiny, beautiful, busty blonde, like a Japanese anime figure come to life.”

A “Zak loves Mandy” profile in Vice notes gushingly that “Through all of Mandy’s hardships, Zak has never left her side. And she is always there, inspiring his art. Their love is honest, real and somehow exists gracefully in their world of disease, art and pornography.”

Article content

Article content

Alas, even porn stars fall out of love.

Claims of abuse brought forward in 2019

Two years after their breakup, Nagy had moved back to Ottawa and claimed in a viral 2019 Facebook post that she had endured years of sexual, physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her ex-husband and now had PTSD. She also alleged he abused two other women as well. Smith, whose work has been shown at prominent museums and galleries, saw his sales plummet and was roundly banned from gaming sites.

He published denials on his blog claiming Nagy’s “false” allegations were due to be her borderline personality disorder and sued her for defamation. Nagy counterclaimed, suing him for sexual battery and for defaming her in his denial posts.

Last year, Smith came out the victor.

Ottawa Superior Court judge Marc Labrosse dismissed both Nagy’s defamation and sexual battery actions, after finding “Mandy (had) not established, on a balance of probabilities, that she did not consent to the sexual activity at the time and that Zak knew or ought to have known that she did not consent” during their “unconventional sexual relationship.”

Article content

While Nagy claimed Smith had programmed her to never deny him sex and it was only after the relationship ended that she learned that she could have withdrawn consent, the judge found she hadn’t established “a single specific instance where, by express words or conduct, she expressed a lack of agreement to continue to engage in the activity and was forced to continue.”

Labrosse also pointed to the testimony of the couple’s sexual partners who said they never witnessed Smith forcing sex.

Meanwhile, Smith was successful in his defamation suit against Nagy’s unsubstantiated charges that he’d sexually and physically abused her, and their relationship was strictly characterized by abuse or trauma, without “reprieves of loving or sweet acts.”

Read More

1. 

   MANDEL: Grieving Ontario family wants answers — including name of Brampton driver in crash that killed 5 kids
2. 

   MANDEL: Will fourth time be the charm for parole-seeking cop killer Clinton Gayle?

3. 

   MANDEL: Kidnapper who tortured Ontario's 'Crypto King' wants a break

Article content

Ordered to pay $40K

But the judge also found some of her comments were not defamatory — including “unflattering statements about Zak that portray him as cruel, cold and responsible for gaslighting and narcissism.” Since Smith’s reputation was already failing, Labrosse ordered Nagy to pay him just $40,000 in damages. But the judge agreed with Smith’s concern that it was unlikely she could pay: she’s on disability and turned to GoFundMe to pay her legal bills.

Nagy appealed — and lost again.

Amanda Nagy.

“In her evidence, Ms. Nagy particularized very few incidents of allegedly non-consensual contact,” wrote Justice David Paciocco on behalf of the three-judge panel. “(The trial judge” did not accept Ms. Nagy’s testimony relating to consent.”

The Ontario Court of Appeal found no legal errors by Labrosse and upheld the damages award — and tacked on an additional $15,000 Nagy must pay in Smith’s legal fees.

“Thank you court of appeals,” Smith posted on X, “can I have my life back now?”

[email protected]

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content