Tyler Van Buren, the self-proclaimed “lawyer” who threatened legal action against Gawker for posting sexually suggestive content of his Santa Claus-suit-wearing “client” being manually stimulated by Mrs. Claus during SantaCon 2013, has made a swift withdrawal from social media in wake of the media outlet’s expose.

Van Buren, who wrote to Gawker under the name “Tyler Van Buren, Esq.,” threatened a lawsuit against the gossip website if it didn’t take down a story titled, “SantaCon Santa Gets Public Handjob from Naughty Mrs. Claus.”

“My client is a successful New York businessman who was simply trying to get home with his girlfriend, who had a little bit too much to drink while at SantaCon,” Van Buren wrote. “The articles that have been posted are extremely hurtful, derogatory, and are simply a defamation of character. The accusations being made have no merit and no basis and are not only inappropriate, but damaging for my client and his girlfriend's reputation and their respective careers.”

While Van Buren claimed to be an attorney, further digging by Gawker revealed that not only is Van Buren likely not a lawyer, but the “attorney” bears a striking resemblance to his “client.” Judge for yourself here. It turns out Van Buren’s request only prodded Gawker to delve deeper into his background.

The controversy erupted when John Wilson, the man behind the peepingjohn Instagram account, posted short clips of a SantaCon 2013 participant getting frisky with a woman in a Mrs. Claus outfit, including a video that strongly suggested that the man was on the receiving end of a sex act involving the woman’s hands inside a Duane Reade in New York City.

The videos have since been taken down by Wilson. So have a number of social media accounts tied to Van Buren, including his Twitter profile, Google + account and LinkedIn profile. There is also no Facebook profile for the same Tyler Van Buren.

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