Hulk Hogan awarded $115m in Gawker sex tape case

Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan arrives in the courtroom on 16 MarchImage copyrightAP
Image captionHulk Hogan said the release of the sex tape hurt his career
A Florida jury has awarded Hulk Hogan $115m (£79m) after the gossip news website Gawker published a sex tape of the retired professional wrestler.
Mr Hogan's legal team argued the New York-based website violated his privacy and the video was not newsworthy.
The case, which pitted freedom of the press against a celebrity's right to privacy, has been closely watched.
The video was posted in 2012 after Mr Hogan was secretly recorded having sex with his friend's wife.
Lawyers for Gawker argued that although jurors might find the website's action distasteful, the concept of freedom of the press was more important to uphold.
Mr Hogan's lawyers said Gawker did not contact him or the woman in the video before the video was published.
Mr Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, said the release of the sex tape hurt his career.
He was one of the most popular professional wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s and later starred in his own reality television show with his family.
In recent years, Mr Hogan's personal problems have conflicted with his one-time child-friendly persona.
His longtime employer World Wrestling Entertainment cut ties with Mr Hogan in July after he was recorded using racial slurs.

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