#Gawker v hogan trial#
#Gawker v hogan professional#

Much of the questioning seemed an attempt to delineate his professional persona from his private life as Terry Bollea. Hogan spent much of the afternoon session on the stand discussing his career and the 'Hulk' persona that had come to define his work as a professional wrestler. It is some surprise, however, that for all Gawker's trespasses, this one has turned into a lawsuit that poses some threat to its future.Ĭlad in a black bandana, dark sunglasses and sporting his trademark white goatee, Terry Bollea arrived at a Florida courtroom on Monday for the first day of his case against Gawker.īoth sides brought their strongest arguments.įor Gawker, there are decades of rulings that have favored the media over public figures in privacy cases.įor Hogan, he's on his home turf in Florida, a state that has relatively strong privacy laws.

So it came as no real surprise that Gawker published a clip from a leaked Hogan sex tape. The company blossomed into a variety of verticals on tech ( Gizmodo), sports ( Deadspin), culture and feminism ( Jezebel) and a variety of others.Īlong the way, Gawker accrued a hard-earned reputation for publishing leaks on a variety of topics that pissed off people like Steve Jobs, Quentin Tarantino and Brett Favre. Gawker has played that role in digital media from its earliest days.įounded by Nick Denton in 2002, Gawker became a destination for an aggressive style of reporting on New York media gossip. Heels may not be the most loved or cheered characters, but they're just as essential to the show as the hero.

Fans are supposed to root against the heel and for the hero. In professional wrestling, a heel is a character that is purposefully bad or evil. Hogan is now suing Gawker for $100 million for his emotional pain and loss of privacy. Not incidentally, the tape also included Hogan using racial slurs, which led directly to the end of his WWE contract. That woman turned out to be the wife of his close friend, a Florida radio personality colloquially known as Bubba the Love Sponge. Gawker eventually took the video down due to Hogan's lawsuit, although the post remains. On October 4, 2012, Gawker published grainy security footage of Hogan having sex with a woman. He struck a confident tone early Monday morning. Hogan's real name is Terry Bollea, which almost no one uses - except in this court.īollea has been known as Hogan for the better part of four decades, in which his wrestling career made him one of the most recognizable figures in sports entertainment. 'I’m sure every judge - and celebrity, and publisher - will be looking at this case for guidance, particularly if it winds up on appeal,' Stewart said. If either Hogan or Gawker take the case to an appeals court - something that is almost inevitable - it could end up setting an important precedent. Stewart added that the case is being tried under Florida law, and that privacy laws vary depending on state. 'It really pushed the bounds of what a court would consider to be 'newsworthy,'' Stewart said in an email. Gawker case is important because it could set a new standard for newsworthiness and privacy. Hogan is arguing that Gawker published something showing one of the most intimate aspects of a person's life, and that it did so in part because it would cause pain and embarrassment for Hogan.Ĭhip Stewart, media law professor at Texas Christian University, said that courts have generally given the benefit of the doubt on these cases to the media. They argue that this makes his tape worthy of publication under the First Amendment. Gawker's argument boils down to the fact that Hogan is a public figure who had publicly discussed his sex life and the tape itself. The central question of the case is whether the newsworthiness of the sex-video clip published by Gawker outweighs Hogan's right to privacy. Gawker founder and CEO Nick Denton has already admitted that it's a fight that is expected to go several rounds.

#Gawker v hogan trial#

On Monday, the trial kicked off round one of what could be a long bout. Posting Hulk Hogan's sex tape isn't revenge porn, but is it legal?