Hogan Knows Gawker

Sex, lies, and surveillance footage. The legal showdown between Hulk Hogan and Gawker begins this week in Florida.

Let us harken back to the year 2012, which was a dark time for the entertainment industry. The Disney movie “John Carter” posted one of the largest losses in cinema history to the tune of $200 million. “Gangnam Style” surpassed 808 million views on YouTube. A sex tape featuring Hulk Hogan was unleashed onto the world.

Opening statements have begun in St. Petersburg, Florida in Hogan’s $100 million civil trial against Gawker, the gossip website who published roughly 1 minute and 40 seconds of the 30-minute sex tape originally filmed in 2006 while Hogan was still married to his ex-wife, Linda. Hogan’s lawyer, David Houston, said their side of the case should be decided by Thursday and stated, “Then we’ll turn it over to Gawker and see how much lipstick they can put on a pig.”

More wwe: WrestleMania 32 Card Projections 9.0

Gawker’s argument is that Hogan’s sexual exploits are a matter of public interest since he has openly (and graphically) discussed them in interviews, books and on his former reality show Hogan Knows Best. The sex tape itself was also covered by the news media which Gawker claims would grant Constitutional protection to the tape’s publication. In a statement last week, Gawker said, “We are defending the First Amendment against Hulk Hogan’s effort to create a world where celebrities can promote themselves around any topic, in this case sex, and then veto how the media covers their lives.”

More from WWE

Unfortunately, I have seen this film and thanks to the magic of the internet, you can too on various sites that I will not mention here. I would highly advise against doing so because the footage is disturbing for a number of terrifying reasons, the least of which is seeing Hogan naked. The black and white surveillance footage shows Hogan talking about his son, his crumbling marriage and culminates in awkward relations with Heather Clem, who was married to Tampa Bay shock jock and close friend Bubba the Love Sponge (aka Todd Alan Clem) at the time. Bubba testified that the film was never supposed to be released to the public, but he didn’t seem to care all that much when it was. When the film initially appeared online, Bubba can clearly be heard stating to his wife that it could be sold for a huge profit and assist in their retirement. A few days later, after reaching a settlement with Hogan, Bubba had a different perspective:

"“I am committed to helping Hulk and his attorneys find whoever is responsible for the release of the tape and holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”"

More from Daily DDT

The tape’s release has been traced to a former employee who was apparently disgruntled when Bubba moved from Sirius XM back to terrestrial radio and his staff was left behind without being paid. Whether or not the online posting is legal under the Constitution is a matter for the mostly female jury to decide, but I understand the appeal of a site like Gawker and it’s readers to be interested in this horror show. Hulk Hogan is a cultural icon and one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world, although lately he’s more like a divorced uncle who moved to Florida, spends most of his time at Planet Fitness and is slightly racist.

Unable to contain his excitement at the possibility of earning $100 million thanks to his tawdry affair, Hogan posted a statement on Twitter last week saying, “Time for the real main event! ‘I AM’ going to slam another Giant! Hogan vs. [sic] Gawker! Watcha Gonna Do Gawker? Only Justice Brother.”

Home/WWE