The $115m verdict seems excessive. It vastly exceeds the damage done by the offense and the benefits gained by the perpetrators.
They are absolute scum. And then to be such hypocrites about the fappening. Good riddance to such rubbish.
1 http://gawker.com/a-judge-told-us-to-take-down-our-hulk-hoga...
One would think someone would read posts before citing them as a source, and notice if it actually says the opposite.
In April 2013, Gawker wrote, "A judge told us to take down our Hulk Hogan sex tape post. We won't." It also stated that "we are refusing to comply" with the order of the circuit court judge.
And so does the archived version of the page.
> A Pinellas County Judge, Pamela A.M. Campbell issued an order Wednesday directing Gawker to remove a video of Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) purportedly having sex with the ex-wife of a disc jockey named "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem, as well as a 1,400-word narrative about the tape and hundreds of user-submitted comments.
> The site did take down the video, but the narrative and comments remain on the site with the website's attorney, Gregg Thomas saying the order to remove that material infringes on the website's First Amendment rights.
So, yes, the video was taken down. No, the post concerning the video was not, despite the court order to do so.
I believe "Hulk Hogan sex tape post" refers to the latter commentary post, not the actual video.
From your own link, which you clearly didn't bother to read even after I pointed out that it contradicts what you said.
What is your calculus? "Hulk Hogan" is a brand that has been around for almost 40 years. The release of the video ruined it; he was fired from the WWE. I don't know what the real number is, but significant value was lost.
"Bollea's reputation took a huge hit last year, and he got fired from his job at World Wrestling Entertainment. That outcome wasn't fallout from the Gawker article, however. In a section of the sex tape that could be described as "pillow talk" (which wasn't published by Gawker), Bollea went on a racist diatribe. He repeatedly used the N-word and other racial insults, expressing disappointment that his daughter was in a relationship with a black man. The racial epithets were leaked by other news sites, including Radar Online and the National Enquirer."
[edit] Another comment here splits the judgement into $50m economic harm and $65m emotional distress. I'm not arguing against the first figure, obviously a celebrity has more money and earning potential that is capable of being harmed. But I don't think they're capable of being distressed any more than the next person.