Ashley Madison CEO Steps Down After Hack Exposes Reality Star Husbands' Accounts

Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman is stepping down in wake of a hack that exposed reality TV stars’ husbands as customers.

Biderman announced on Friday he will also resign from his position as CEO of Avid Life Media, the parent company of Ashley Madison. The decision to find new leadership comes after a devastating hack exposed the identity of 40 million users who had accounts on the dating website that catered to married people hoping to have an affair.

“This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees. We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base,” Avid Life Media said in a statement. “We are actively adjusting to the attack on our business and members’ privacy by criminals.”

Also Read: 101 ESPN Employees Signed Up for Cheating Website Ashley Madison From Work (Report)

The statement also said that the company will continue to operate its dating websites (the company runs two more) and that it will be led by its existing senior management team until a new CEO is chosen.

According to Avid Life Media, the team is “actively adjusting to the attack on our business and members’ privacy by criminals. We are actively cooperating with international law enforcement in an effort to bring those responsible for the theft of proprietary member and business information to justice.”

“19 Kids and Counting” star Josh Duggar was among the wreckage, while “Jersey Shore” star Snooki Polizzi’s husband, Jionni Lavalle, allegedly had an account on the site as well, along with the husband of “Real Housewives of New York” star Kristen Taekman.

Also Read: Reality Stars' Husbands Caught Red-Handed in Ashley Madison Leak

“I signed up for the site foolishly and ignorantly with a group of friends and I deeply apologize for any embarrassment or pain I have brought to my wife and family,” Taekman’s husband, Josh Taekman, previously told TheWrap. “We both look forward to moving past this and getting on with our lives.”

Before that, Duggar owned up to the account by admitting he is guilty of being “the biggest hypocrite ever.”

“While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife,” he said in a statement.

This week, a report revealed that 101 ESPN employees joined the site from work, 39 of which even used their company email addresses. The remaining potential cheaters were found using an IP Address search that targeted office computers.

13 Reality Shows Killed by Scandal Before '19 Kids and Counting': 'Megan Wants a Millionaire' to 'Buckwild' (Photos)

These reality television shows made their exit from the small screen in unfavorable ways. Will "19 Kids and Counting" follow a similar path?
Getty Images/TLC/MTV
MTV suspended production on "Buckwild," marketed as the "redneck version" of "Jersey Shore," following the death of cast member Shain Gandee. The 21-year-old was found dead of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
MTV
Never mind that Liza Minnelli and David Gest separated the following year, VH1 dropped "Liza and David" before its first episode aired because Gest was "impossible to work with."
Twitter/@LoveYouMoreMJ_
"Kid Nation," a show about 40 kids running their own town with minimal adult interference, was axed by CBS when it was accused of exploiting the children's welfare and being the "sweatshop of the entertainment industry."
CBS
CeeLo Green’s reality show "The Good Life" was canned by TBS days after the musician pleaded no contest to a felony charge of giving a woman the drug ecstasy. He then tweeted: “People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!”
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"Pretty Wild" was slated to become E!'s next reality family success story after the Kardashians. The show followed momager Andrea Arlington and her three wannabe model daughters Alexis Neiers, Tess Taylor and Gabby Neiers. Alexis was arrested after shooting the pilot as one of the members of the "Bling Ring," a group of teenage thieves who broke into celebrity homes like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. "Pretty Wild" included some of the trial in its first season and did not opt to renew.
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TLC quickly canceled "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" after reports came out that June Shannon, mother to the young star of the series, was resuming her relationship with a man who was convicted of molesting another one of her daughters.
TLC
Ryan Jenkins, the Canadian man suspected of killing model Jasmine Fiore and then taking his own life, appeared first as a contestant on "Megan Wants A Millionaire" and then on "I Love Money 3." Though the incident happened months after he was on either show, VH1 pulled the plug on both. "Megan Wants A Millionaire" was yanked mid-season, while "I Love Money 3" was not set to air for another year.
VH1
"Ev and Ocho" was a VH1 series following newlyweds NFL receiver Chad Johnson (aka Ochocinco) and “Basketball Wives” star Evelyn Lozada. VH1 yanked the show after the new groom was arrested on a domestic violence charge for head-butting his new bride.
VH1
"Armed and Famous" followed five stars (La Toya Jackson, Erik Estrada, Jack Osbourne, Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna and Trish Stratus) who enrolled in the Police Academy in Muncie, Indiana, and served as part of its patrol. The show was canceled after four episodes due to ratings ... And perhaps because Estrada got into a public shouting match with a suspect. Also, a woman sued the show for wrongful entry and illegal search.
CBS
"Jon & Kate Plus 8" became "Kate Plus 8" when Jon and Kate Gosselin announced their split during the show's fifth season finale. Jon wasn't pleased to be kicked off the show and tried to stop TLC from filming his children altogether.
TLC
A&E yanked "The Two Coreys," which featured child stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, after Haim suffered a drug abuse relapse while shooting the second season. Feldman said he would no longer deal with his friend's substance addiction. Haim died in March 2010.
A&E
"Flip It Forward" features twin brothers Jason and David Benham in their own HGTV series. Or, it would, had the network not shut down those plans after learning about homophobic, anti-Muslim and anti-abortion statements they’d made in the past.
HGTV
Last month, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had inappropriately touched five underage girls – four of which are his sisters – when he was a teenager. TLC pulled all episodes of "19 Kids and Counting" off the air, but has stopped short of definitively canceling the show. Considering the backlash and how many of its sponsors have dropped out, it's a matter of "when" and not "if" the show will get axed.
TLC