by Graeme Turman

The actor and former wrestling superstar that is Hulk Hogan is no stranger to media controversy, with recent reports of his racist remarks gaining attention nationwide. This time around, Hogan is in court with a case against Gawker Media, claiming that the online tabloid empire had invaded his privacy when editors of the website Gawker.com refused to take down a sex tape featuring Hogan, despite a court order issued back in 2013.

The trial began on March 6th of this year, nearly four years after the initial publishing of the tape and eight months after the initially scheduled date of the trial. Hogan is seeking $100,000,000 in damages from Gawker Media, which is reportedly enough to severely damage the media conglomerate’s finances, and could possibly lead to the company into bankruptcy.

“I think it’s great,” Oakdale Junior Nicholas Goodman responded. “I hate Gawker.”

Junior Christopher Barker also believes that Hogan “has a really big success in his future,… and I think he’s gonna go a long way, I think he’s gonna make a lot of money and do good business,” despite having no knowledge of the trial.

The plaintiff claims that a ruling in favor of Gawker could lead to a precedent that would allow media organizations to essentially spy on celebrities in their private residence and deny them their constitutionally protected right to privacy, The New York Times reports. Albert J. Daulerio, a former editor-in-chief of Gawker; however, claims that there was no wrongdoing in the publishing of the tape. Voicing that such materials were acquired legitimately and were filmed with Hogan’s prior consent, which Hogan vehemently denies. Daulerio is quoted as to saying that the tape was “newsworthy” and “worth publishing.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/us/hulk-hogan-vs-gawker-suit-over-sex-tape.html

UPDATE: Hulk Hogan has since been awarded $115 million in damages in the suit against the media conglomerate. Gawker has plans to appeal the verdict, which will first require the company to pay at least half of the listed damages, according to Florida law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/business/media/gawker-hulk-hogan-verdict.html