Note to Hulk Hogan: the drinks are on you.
For the next millennium.
Three days after the professional wrestling icon was rewarded $ 115 million by a jury of his peers because they determined that Gawker Media violated his privacy when it leaked portions of an old sex tape… the Hulkster was rewarded with $ 25 million more.
No, that is not a typo.
In its latest declaration, the jury held Gawker liable for $ 15 million and its publisher, Nick Denton, liable for $ 10 million in punitive damages.
As opposed to the earlier awarding of $ 115 million for compensatory damages, the punitive reward is flat out intended to punish Gawker for its invasion of Hogan’s privacy.
The massive pay-out stems from a sex tape Hogan says was made without his consent back in 2007.
It featured him going to Pound Town with Heather Clem, the wife of his good friend at the time a DJ named Bubba the Love Sponge.
Gawker then acquired the video in 2010 and released snippets on its website.
Hogan filed his lawsuit against the company in 2013, seeking $ 100 million for the private footage that featured just nine seconds of actual intercourse.
In court, Hogan testified that he was “humiliated” and left “shaken” after the release of the video.
Gawker has issued a statement in response to the latest damages, saying it is confident the verdict will be overturned on appeal.
The website maintains it had a right to post the tape initially because it was newsworthy and therefore protected by the First Amendment.
