Former pro wrestler turned infomercial spokesman Hulk Hogan is now hoping to put the smack down in the legal arena. The Hulk Hogan sex tape started a tidal wave of chatter when released a couple of weeks back and the media hysteria only increased when additional details became known. It soon turned into a full blown soap opera with the former WWE/WCW champion threatening to sue anyone and everyone involved it its release.
On Monday, the lawsuits started to fly. Hogan filed a pair of civil suits in Tampa, Florida. The first is against his sex tape co-star, Heather Clem, and her husband and former Hogan confidante Bubba the Love Sponge. The suit alleges invasion of privacy, public disclosure of private facts, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and violation of Florida law prohibiting the taping of sexual activity without the knowledge of the participants. Hogan’s lawyer David Houston had previously said about the involvement of Bubba:
“Terry (Hogan’s real name is Terry Bolea) never wanted to be in the position of suing someone he considered a best friend, but if someone does that to you maybe your idea of a best friendship was misplaced.”
Hogan’s attorney also filed suit against Gawker Media, which first posted excerpts of the tape and refused to take them down after receiving a cease and desist letter. The suit against Gawker is seeking $100 million in monetary damages, plus punitive damages, a temporary restraining order and a preliminary and permanent injunction compelling them to take all Hogan related content off of their websites.
Unlike last week when Hogan was all over the media giving his spin on the sex tape release and aftermatch (along with promoting last night’s TNA pro wrestling pay per view) he’s very tight lipped on the lawsuits. According to his attorney the only comment he has at this time:
“I am fortunate to have a supportive family during this process.”
Expect more to come as the parties named in each lawsuit comes up with a response and their own media spin. It doesn’t look like the furor over the Hulk Hogan sex tape will die down any time soon.
Of course many would argue that the real damages sustained by Hulk Hogan has over the years been self inflected courtesy of his perilous public/bedroom behavior but that of course is a matter of opinion….
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/10/hulk-hogan-to-sue-gawker-for-100-million-for-leaking-sex-tape/