A US jury on Friday ordered the news and entertainment Web site Gawker to pay wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan US$115 million for posting online a secretly recorded video of him having sex.
The six-member jury reached the decision in favor of Hogan after deliberating for six hours following a two-week civil trial in Florida.
Hogan burst into tears when the verdict was announced.
Photo: AP
The 62-year-old, whose real name is Terry Bollea, has argued that the video — which shows him having sex with the wife of a friend and lasts 1 minute, 41 seconds — invaded his privacy and humiliated him.
Hogan’s lawyer has said the video was viewed about 7 million times.
One of the US’ most famous entertainment wrestlers, now retired Hogan was known for wearing a bandana and a handlebar mustache. During the trial, Hogan — dressed in a dark suit and black bandana — testified that a friend of his, radio personality Bubba “the Love Sponge” Clem, had an “open marriage” and wanted his wife to have sex with Hogan.
After several entreaties, Hogan said he finally agreed, not realizing that the encounter was secretly recorded.
“Mr Bollea is exceptionally happy,” Hogan’s lawyer, David Houston, said outside the court following the ruling.
Gawker Media founder and chief executive officer Nick Denton watched quietly as the jury’s decision was read aloud to those in the court.
Speaking to reporters outside, he indicated an appeal was in the works.
“Given key evidence and the most important witness were both improperly withheld from this jury, we all knew the appeals court will need to resolve the case,” Denton said.
“I want to thank our lawyers for their outstanding work and am confident that we would have prevailed at trial if we had been allowed to present the full case to the jury,” he added. “That is why we feel very positive about the appeal that we have already begun preparing, as we expect to win this case ultimately.”
The jury awarded Hogan US$15 million more than he had originally sought. Of the US$115 million, US$60 million is for personal emotional stress suffered by Hogan.
The jury — consisting of four women and two men — ruled in favor of Hogan on all of the claims. The trial was closely watched by legal experts and celebrities as defense attorneys argued the publication of the sex tape was protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
A lawyer for Gawker, Michael Berry, said during the proceedings that the recording and posting of celebrity photographs and video — even salacious ones — comes with the territory when one is a star.
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