Hulk Hogan and Gawker are sharing a nasty war of words over a decade-old sex tape, and now those verbal salvos are heading to a Florida courtroom.
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Hulk Hogan has told a court in Florida he thought it was a joke when his former best friend Bubba “the Love Sponge” Clem said his wife wanted to have sex with him.
During that time, Hogan says Bubba and his then wife – Heather Clem – approached him about having sex with Heather and he repeatedly declined.
Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea), sporting a black bandana and a cross necklace, took the witness stand after opening statements were made in a case that examines the responsibilities of a free press.
Gawker says it was a fair scoop because Hogan had talked openly about his sex life before, in forums such as Howard Stern’s radio show.
Bubba handed him a condom and said he was heading to his office, Hogan testified.
“Gawker believes this kind of reporting is important”, Berry said, according to Reuters.
By the time Gawker got a copy of the video, it was a matter of public interest, Berry said.
Also, CNNMoney reports that Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker will begin Monday despite ongoing problems with jury selection.
Former WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan attended the first court hearing in his ongoing legal battle with Gawker, stemming from the online media company’s leak of his sex tape.
When Mr. Hogan’s marriage fell apart, he gave into “temptation” and, after being propositioned for years by his friend and his wife, who had an open marriage, he had sex with Bubba’s then-wife Heather Clem.
Hogan will testify in the trial later on Monday.
During the questioning, Hogan admitted that he had lied in public appearances about the sex tape.
Both sides in pro wrestler Hulk Hogan’s privacy lawsuit against the news website Gawker have portrayed him as a hero to little kids, a well-known entertainment figure and an American icon.
Jane Kirtley, a media ethics and law professor at the University of Minnesota, tells CNN that Hogan’s case raises tricky First Amendment questions.
Gawker contends that the blog post was newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment.
Gawker’s lawyer, Michael Berry, acknowledged the website had broadcast one minute and 41 seconds of the 30-minute video in 2012, including around nine seconds of sexual content. The video was removed six months later under a court order, which was later reversed by an appellate court, though the video remains off Gawker’s site. “Everything was so surreal that’s how it was”, says Hogan.
Hulk Hogan enters the stage prior to his bout against Ric Flair during the Hulkamania Tour at the Burswood Dome on November 24, 2009 in Perth, Australia.
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Six jurors, plus three alternates, were chosen to decide the trial, which is expected to run about three-and-a-half weeks.
