The wrestling legend sued for invasion of privacy after Gawker posted a clip of him having sex with his then-best friend’s wife.
John Pendygraft / AP
A Florida jury on Friday awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million in his lawsuit against Gawker, finding the media company violated wrestler's privacy by posting a 90-second clip of him having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, Bubba the Love Sponge.
The verdict in his favor came after a three-week trial in which jurors heard testimony from Hogan and several Gawker employees, including founder Nick Denton and former editors AJ Daulerio and Emma Carmichael.
Hogan – whose real name is Terry Bollea – sued Gawker Media for $100 million for publishing the clip without his consent, causing him "severe emotional distress," his lawyers said during the trial. Hogan maintains he did not know he was being filmed at the time of the encounter.
The amount of money Gawker has to pay Hogan in damages will be determined at a later date.
Last year, Denton said that millions of dollars in damages could shut down Gawker Media. In an interview with BuzzFeed News days before the trial began, Denton said he felt more confident because Gawker raised outside investment funds.
"We're generally rather relaxed and confident about our financial position," Denton told BuzzFeed News at the time.
The clip, though posted in 2012, was recorded in 2007 – a time Hogan described a as a "low point" in his life due to the problems he was having with his then-wife Linda.
"I'm torn, my family is torn," Hogan said in court, describing the impact that the release of the tape had on his life. "It turned my world upside down."
"I was depressed," he told the court. "I was at a low point in my life and when Bubba said to come to his house, I was just desperate and I went over there and one thing led to another."
During closing arguments, at the end of a three-week trial, Hogan's lawyer Kenneth Turkel said Gawker didn't have the "decency" to contact anyone in the video for comment.
"With a click, he uploads this thing onto the internet and turns this man's life upside down," Turkel said of Daulerio.
He went on to say that Denton was proud ruining Hogan's life.
"This guy's up in New York sitting behind a computer playing God with other people's lives," Turkel said of Denton.
During closing arguments, Gawker's lawyer Michael Sullivan reminded the jurors – who did not view the sex tape – that Hogan asks Bubba the Love Sponge before the encounter, "you're not filming this, are you?"
"Ask yourselves, is this just another antic between two best friends?" Sullivan asked, implying Hogan knew he was being filmed.
Hogan's lawyer brushed off speculation of a publicity stunt, saying the video was made public five years after it was recorded.
Nick Denton
Steve Nesius / AP
Denton defended himself as a champion of the First Amendment, claiming Hogan's personal life was fair game because he had openly discussed his sex life in graphic detail on radio and television programs such as the Howard Stern Show.
Hogan testified that he had exaggerated and embellished on some of the interviews and that they were done in his wrestler persona — and did not reflect his real-life self.
"I do not have a 10-inch penis," Hogan said, referring to an interview he did in character. "Terry Bollea's penis is not 10 inches."
"I was totally Hulk Hogan [during the interviews] because I wasn't at home in my private house," Hogan said.
Hogan's lawyers said in court that the only reason Gawker published the wrestling legend's sex tape was for "power and profit" and to "virally market their website."
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1pzsOkl
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