Retired pro wrestler Hulk Hogan was awarded $115 million in damages by a Florida jury on Friday as restitution for Gawker’s publishing his sex tape.
The privacy case received national attention due its nature — a celebrity athlete caught in a sex tape with his wife’s friend. But the verdict sets a new precedent for journalism in an evolving digital age. Hogan’s lawyers closed by saying their client reaped significant negative effects as a result of Gawker’s poor judgment.
The founder of Gawker, Nick Denton, and the former editor in chief Albert J. Daulerio, were both found personally liable.
Hogan’s legal team said the verdict “represents a statement as to the public’s disgust with the invasion of privacy disguised as journalism … The verdict says, ‘No more.’ ”
Hogan, or Terry G. Bollea as he is legally known, had asked for $100 million in compensation. He received $55 million for economic harm and $60 million for emotional distress.
