Hulk Hogan v. Gawker Lawsuit: Professional Wrestler Awarded $115 Million In Sex-Tape Case

After six hours of deliberations, a Florida jury awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million Friday in his invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker Media. Hogan, 62, a professional wrestler whose real name is Terry Bollea, sued the website after it posted a tape showing him having sex with his best friend's wife.

In 2012, Gawker published a nearly two-minute clip of the tape, showing Hogan engaged in sex with Heather Clem, the wife of his then-best friend, radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. Hogan said he did not know he was being recorded.

The two-week trial turned on Hogan's right to privacy versus freedom of the press. Gawker's lawyers argued that Hogan was a celebrity and his sex life was a matter of public interest. The website said it received the tape anonymously. Hogan's lawyers said that Gawker did not contact Hogan for comment before publishing the video.

Hogan — who had sought $100 million, less than he got — received $55 million for economic injuries and $60 million for emotional distress in the case, tried in St. Petersburg. There could also be additional punitive damages, according to CNN's Tom Kludt.

The jury found Gawker founder Nick Denton and former editor Albert J. Daulerio both personally liable.

After the verdict was read, the professional wrestler reportedly broke down sobbing. Gawker's team plans to appeal the verdict.

"Given key evidence and the most important witness were both improperly withheld from this jury, we all knew the appeals court would need to resolve the case," Denton said in a statement. "I want to thank our lawyers for their outstanding work and am confident that we would have prevailed at trial if we had been allowed to present the full case to the jury."