Former Pro Wrestler "Hulk Hogan: Wins Lawsuit Against Gawker Media, Awarded $115 Million!!!!

"Hulk Hogan" real name Terry Bollea on the stand during the trial.

Former professional wrestler "Hulk Hogan", real name Terry Bollea, won his lawsuit against Gawker Media for invading his privacy when they posted a sex tape that showed Hugan having sex with his then best friend's wife, Heather Clem (wife of "DJ Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem). The sex took place in the master bedroom at the Clem's house. Hulk is heard several times asking if Bubba was filming it? That's why he never should have done it. If he was going to have sex with that tramp, he should have taken her to a hotel that he paid for.

The jurors reached the decision Friday evening, less than six hours after they began deliberations. The trial lasted two weeks, and Hogan wept as the verdict was read.

The jury isn’t finished; they will return to court Monday to award punitive damages. Just moments after the verdict, Gawker founder Nick Denton said he will appeal, based on evidence that wasn’t introduced in court.

“Given the key evidence and the most important witness in this case were withheld from the jury, we all knew the appeals court would need to resolve this case,” Denton said.

Hogan’s team issued a statement as well: “We’re exceptionally happy with the verdict. We think it represents a statement as to the public’s disgust with the invasion of privacy disguised as journalism. The verdict says no more.”

Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, sued Gawker for $100 million for posting a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. Hogan contended the 2012 post violated his privacy.

First Amendment experts, media lawyers and privacy advocates watched the case closely.

“It’s a huge damage award, and just the idea that a celebrity has a right to privacy that outweighs freedom of the press and the public’s right to know, that’s a huge shift in American free press law,” said Samantha Barbas, a law professor at the University of Buffalo and the author of “The Laws of Image,” which focuses on the history of libel and privacy. “It could potentially be a turning point in law.”

The verdict and the unsealing of hundreds of pages of documents late in the day capped a three week judicial circus in the sleepy St. Petersburg courtroom. Jurors, media and thousands who followed the case on Twitter and livestream video were treated to days of details about Hogan’s sex life, body part size, and images of him in thong underwear. There was wrestling history, videos of Hogan yukking it up with Howard Stern and, most notably, how Gawker — a 12-year-old news and gossip website in New York City— does journalism differently from legacy media.

The unsealed documents will undoubtedly be key in Gawker’s appeals process. The evidence was unsealed because a group of media companies, including The Associated Press, sued for access and won. The civil court judge in the case had ruled that the documents be sealed, but an appellate court sided with the media companies, saying they were of legitimate public interest.