Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan has conquered one last foe, and this one took place outside of the squared circle. In a courtroom case that is sure to set a precedent for future privacy related celebrity matters, a Florida jury awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million with the potential for that number to increase through punitive damage.
By now you have probably heard what spurned the case, but if not it’s very simple: Hulk Hogan was secretly filmed having sex in the mid-2000’s with his friends wife, and gawker.com recently acquired the tape and released sections of it, claiming that it was newsworthy and not an invasion of privacy. Gawker then repeatedly refused to take the video down, even in the face of a judge’s orders, all in the name of “journalism”, claiming that the sex tape was somehow not an invasion of privacy.
Gawker is already preparing to appeal the ruling, and will desperately try anything they can to avoid paying Hulk Hogan the massive amount of money. The large amount of $115 million would likely have an extremely damaging effect on Gawker, possibly leading them to sell off their many websites in their network, so they will do everything in their power to avoid that.
Hopefully this case shows that celebrities still deserve privacy and dignity in the matters where it’s needed the most.
