On Friday, the website Gawker lost a sizable class lawsuit against the former pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of a sex tape involving the appearance of the famed wrestler back in 2012 alongside his best friend’s wife.
The sex tape was recorded in 2006 and was apparently leaked through the Gawker website. Hogan claims he wasn’t aware the situation was being filmed and the person recording the video didn’t have his consent.
Terry Bollea – Hulk Hogan’s real name – sued Gawker for publishing portions of a sex tape featuring the wrestling star and the wife of his former friend in a canopy bed. The tape shows Hogan having sex with the wife of his former best friend called Bubba the Love Sponge, who supposedly filmed the encounter without Hogan’s knowledge or consent. He stated that the publishing of the private videotape humiliated him and turned the wrestler’s life upside down since then.
Even though Terry Bollea sued Gawker and its founder Nick Denton for $100 million, there’s much more at stake in this case than it meets the eye. Both sides of the case over the leak of a sex tape featuring Hulk Hogan are a significant factor on how the balance between privacy rights and press freedom on the Internet hold in a courtroom.
Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, has more than valid reasons to sue the website Gawker for releasing a private film of him and his former best friend’s wife without his approval, as well as raising crucial issues about Internet privacy and information security.
And while the Florida jury awarded the staggering amount of $115 million to Hogan in compensatory damages, the media company website Gawker could prevail in its court battle with the famed wrestler.
Both sides of the case will be given the chance to present further evidence to support their respective claims next week, so the jury could still add punitive damages.
In response to Hogan allegations, Gawker claims the former pro wrestler has consistently chosen to put his own life out on the Internet, according to Michael Sullivan, Gawker’s lawyer in the case against Terry Bollea. Gawker claims it received a 30-minute DVD of the sex tape in 2012 through the mail from an unknown person.
Source: LA Times