Last month, it was revealed that Thiel bankrolled Hogan’s lawsuit as what he called a “deterrent” to Gawker’s no-holds-barred and sometimes gonzo style of journalism.
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Gawker media has filed for bankruptcy after losing a multi-million dollar privacy lawsuit brought against them by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.
The insanely popular website and media company was sued by Hogan after they released, against a judge’s advisement, a sex tape in which Hogan can be seen having sex with his best friend Bubba the Love Sponge’s ex-wife.
The jury agreed and awarded $140 million to Hogan, an award that has been upheld in the appellate process, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
A Chapter 11 filing, which must be approved by a bankruptcy court, protects a company’s assets from creditors and enables it to reorganize its finances under the court’s supervision. “Our sites will thrive – under new ownership – and we’ll win in court”.
Hogan, whose real name happens to be Terry Bollea, twitted to the millions of his fans, how pleased he was of the news that Gawker filed bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy Chapter 1 filing this week in Manhattan was due to the tough legal fight the company had with former wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Digital publisher Ziff Davis has reportedly already placed a bid, with $100 million as the opening price.
During the three-week trial Gawker defended its right to publish the video as part of its celebrity news coverage, while Mr Hogan argued it had been an invasion of his privacy. Gawker “outed” Thiel as gay in 2007.
After the judgment was handed down, Gawker Media was forced to put up a $50 million bond, which more than exhausted the company’s cash on hand.
Gawker, a network of blogs built on gossip, was founded in 2003 by Denton.
Denton said in a prepared statement that he was “encouraged” by the agreement from Ziff Davis, which itself has a long and rocky history.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Gawker said its Chap.
The 14-year-old Gawker group had 44.4 million unique visitors in April across its seven websites, which include Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Jalopnik and Jezebel, according to data provider comScore Inc.
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The bankruptcy “drives home what’s been the message of the Gawker case all along – that today the media can’t necessarily be as confident as they once were that they can publish with impunity”, says Samantha Barbas, a law professor at the University at Buffalo Law School.
