Report: Peter Thiel Is Bankrolling Hulk Hogan's Lawsuit Against Gawker
Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has helped fund Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media, Forbes reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case.
Thiel, who sits on the board of Facebook, did not respond to requests for comment. Hogan was recently awarded $140 million by a Florida jury hearing his long-running lawsuit against Gawker, which was filed after the company published excerpts of a leaked sex tape featuring the former pro wrestler.
Charles Harder, Hogan's lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment. "I do not discuss the finances of my clients," he told the New York Times.
Gawker is appealing the verdict, whose damages could be financially ruinous for the company if they are upheld. Founder Nick Denton told Forbes that Thiel's name has been mentioned, among other Silicon Valley figures, in rumors of possible outside supporters of Hogan's case.
Thiel and Gawker have a history: In the comments to a 2007 Gawker article headlined "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people," Denton wrote he had previously been warned of "destruction that would rain down on me" if he reported on Thiel's sexual orientation.
"The only thing that's strange about Thiel's sexuality: why on earth was he so paranoid about its discovery for so long?" Denton wrote.
via BuzzFeed - Tech http://ift.tt/1UcndKU
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments: