Hulk Hogan Settles the Gawker Media Dispute, Receives a Hefty Sum of Eight Figures
“A great day for everyone’s right to privacy.”
According to new court documents that have surfaced this Wednesday, Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) will ostensibly be awarded $31 million USD following the wrestler’s long quarrel with Gawker Media over a leaked sex tape—the entire scandal was allegedly backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. Hogan will also receive a percentage of proceeds from the former media company’s $135 million USD buyout to Univision which he will split with two other defamation lawsuits: one filed by Shiva Ayyadurai and freelance writer Ashley Terrill, as per WWD. It was only this past August when the Hulkster was granted $140 million USD which led to Gawker filing for bankruptcy in June and selling its entities such as Deadspin, Jezebel and Gizmodo in order to pay the heaping amount of damages.
Gawker founder and former CEO Nick Denton said in a statement:
“It’s a shame the Hogan trial took place without the motives of the plaintiff’s backer being known. If there is a lasting legacy from this experience, it should be a new awareness of the danger of dark money in litigation finance. And that’s surely in the spirit of the transparency Gawker was founded to promote. As for Peter Thiel himself, he is now for a wider group of people to contemplate.”
On the other hand, speaking of Thiel, he told CNBC that “it is a great day for Terry Bollea and a great day for everyone’s right to privacy.”
