“Now he wants $100 million as compensation”, Gawker said this morning.
Advertisement
The tape showed Hogan having sex with Heather Clem, then the wife of radio host Bubba “the Love Sponge” Clem. Hogan, who was separated from his wife, Linda, at the time, insists he had no idea that he was being taped.
Bubba handed him a condom and said he was heading to his office, Hogan testified. “It was a low point in my life that when Bubba says, ‘Hey man, come over to my house, let’s talk, I was so desperate I went over there”.
What ensued from there was a unique blend of what happens to a man when his fictional and non-fictional sides meet, exposing fault lines in real-life confidence attached to one’s work and personal lives, not to mention the vulnerability of hair loss leaving a big, bad wrestler anxious about an aura of masculinity.
The video clip shows Hulk Hogan engaging in sex with Heather Clem. The jury may have to grapple with questions about how celebrity affects expectations of privacy.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan said Monday he was “completely humiliated” by the publication of a video showing him having sex with his then-best friend’s wife.
Vogt noted that Gawker marketed the Hogan video as “the heavyweight champ of sex tapes” and alleged that the gossip site’s staffers had joked about whether “his penis was wearing a doo-rag”.
Gawker posted one minute and 41 seconds of the 30-minute video, which was delivered to the website anonymously in 2012.
Gawker defended its actions in a statement Monday.
Mr Vogt also claimed the New York-based website had invaded Hogan’s privacy for profit.
They’re getting their chance to grill him as he takes the stand. First, however, they’ll present the sworn testimony of his sex partner, Clem, via video deposition.
Hogan is apparently confident about his chances in the trial, tweeting on March 1, “Time for the real main event!”
Lawyers for Gawker are expected to address the jury shortly.
Opening statements began today in Hulk Hogan’s 100-million-dollar trial against the news website Gawker. He cited Gawker’s internal page views and other metrics as evidence that the site benefited monetarily from publishing an excerpt of the tape, and he showed other stories where Gawker and other Gawker sites censored sex tapes to show that it wasn’t standard practice. He says the posting of the video caused him severe emotional distress.
In the audio, Hogan complains about a “black billionaire guy” who wanted to help his daughter, Brooke with her career.
Nick Denton, founder of Gawker.
Advertisement
Footage from the trial is being streamed live online here.
