Billionaire Peter Thiel says he bankrolled Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media because he “thought it was worth fighting back” against an outlet he calls a “singularly awful bully”.
Advertisement
Swirling in the background of the court proceedings were reports in The New York Times and Forbes that Thiel is footing Hogan’s legal bills against their common enemy, Gawker.
He told the newspaper he hired a legal team several years ago to look for cases against Gawker, and that others are in the works. “If America rallies around Gawker and decides we want more people to be outed and more sex tapes to be posted without consent, then they will find a way to save Gawker, and I can’t stop it”.
Funding Hogan’s court case was “less about revenge and more about specific deterrence”, he told the Times.
Hogan won a $140 million verdict against Gawker in March.
Gawker said Thursday that it expects to prevail in an appeal of the Hogan verdict and that it’s always said it is exploring contingency plans.
Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, sued the media and celebrity-focused website in 2012 over the publication of a tape showing him having sex with a friend’s wife, claiming the publication cost him endorsements and inflicted emotional harm.
Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and a Facebook board member, has been a frequent subject of Gawker’s withering coverage.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan has an unlikely ally in his corner for his courtroom cage match with Gawker a high-tech billionaire with a long-standing grudge against the news-and-gossip site.
Thiel, whose net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion, cofounded PayPal and invested early in Facebook.
“I am supporting other people who have been harmed by Gawker, which routinely relied on an expectation that their less wealthy victims would have no legal recourse even against clear violations”, said Thiel in written statements to the Journal.
Thiel kept mum publicly about his sexuality at the time, but has since said he is gay. A spokesman for Thiel said Wednesday he would be in touch if Thiel decides to issue a statement on the matter. He made his suspicions known in an interview this week, pointing a finger rather firmly in the direction of a “Silicon Valley billionaire” without naming him. Gawker has since attempted to appeal the judgement – but it was upheld yesterday.
A longtime supporter of libertarian causes, Thiel recently said he was backing real estate financier Donald Trump in his bid for president. Even were you to succeed in bankrupting Gawker Media, the writers you dislike, and me, just think what it will mean.
Univision is not among the bidders to buy Gawker, sources familiar with the deal told BuzzFeed News.
Advertisement
He also warned that if the case continues, it will expose “gruesome” details of Mr Thiel’s involvement.
