- Ladies and gentlemen,
Hulk Hogan!
- Hulkamania--
God, it took over the world.
It was a very exciting time
in wrestling.
- Got action! Hulk!
- They love it!
- He was patriotic.
He was for family values.
- People loved him.
- But then...
- Tonight
the Showbiz Countdown--
Hulk Hogan's sex tape.
- I never really imagined
I'd see Hulk Hogan's
erect p*nis.
It was crazy.
There were these
celebrity sex tapes
floating around.
- This is the tape
that catapulted her
from socialite to superstar.
- But for Hulk Hogan,
this was much more
than just
an embarrassing sex tape.
- I'm going full blown
to try to find out
who did this to me and why.
- This was one of the craziest
cases that I reported on.
- No, seriously, I do not have
a 10-inch p*nis.
- It turned out, there was
something else on the tape
that Hulk Hogan didn't want
to be revealed to the public.
- What can you tell me
about the use of the *-word?
- Batman and Indiana Jones
aren't exciting enough
for you this summer,
you may want to check out
Hulk Hogan's thriller.
crowd: Hogan, Hogan,
Hogan, Hogan.
- If you thought
the Incredible Hulk was
a figment of some television
writer's imagination,
you would be wrong.
He exists; he's alive and well
and competing
for the heavyweight wrestling
championship of the world.
- He is real.
He is the Hulk.
- The origins of Hulk Hogan--
it's hard to be 100% certain
about all of the specifics
of everything,
but the entire world knows
the character of Hulk Hogan.
But this person
started out as just
a working-class guy from Tampa
called Terry Bollea.
- Where'd you get that picture?
- Somebody--it's yours.
It's not mine.
- Oh, thank you.
- I knew he was destined
for fame because
Terry always just wanted
to be number one.
- He'd always been determined
to be the best.
Make no mistake,
it didn't fall in his lap.
He worked his a*s off
to get there.
- It's South Tampa,
and he was hanging
around a lot of the gyms
that the wrestlers went to.
And that's how Terry Bollea
broke into
the wrestling business.
He spent some time going
around to various territories,
really learning the craft
and learning what he could do
to make himself stand out.
- Hulk, he had an amazing
physique at 6'6" or 7",
300 pounds.
- Maybe you people
out there don't realize
what you're looking at, Daddy.
But you got 6'7" right here,
a mountain of a man.
- He looked a little bit
different from everyone else.
He was very tan.
He had
the bleached blond hair.
- I just looked at him
and went, wow,
this guy's gonna...
do something big.
- Terry worked
very hard to build
this character that would
capture people's imaginations.
And he finally settled
on a name that would
make him a wrestling legend.
- This,
the Incredible Hulk Hogan.
- He went to the top
of the card
in the early '80s and became
a sensation in the Midwest.
- The blows by Bockwinkel
having seemingly
no effect on Hulk Hogan.
- He sold out arenas.
- Here's the man.
Here's the champion.
- And then
he sold out stadiums.
That coincided
with Vince McMahon, Jr.,
taking over the WWF
from his father.
And Vince McMahon, Jr., turned
his eye to nationalization.
- The fabulous Hulk Hogan--
take a look
at this giant of a man.
- He knew that Hulk Hogan
was the guy
that he could pitch
his company to
to make pro wrestling
a household name.
- Hulk made a deal
with Vince McMahon
and never came back.
- When Vince McMahon, Jr.,
took over wrestling,
it was about spectacle
and pomp and circumstance.
Hulk Hogan was the perfect
demonstration of that.
- Ladies and gentlemen,
Hulk Hogan!
- We know who the boss is.
That's the big dude up there.
And he created the heavens,
the earth, the Hulkamaniacs,
New York City,
and the largest arms
in the world, brother.
- We have got action! Hulk!
- They love it!
- Hulkamania--
God, it took over the world.
I would say, at one time,
his level of popularity
was like--literally
like the Rolling Stones.
He was just huge.
- You're looking
at a $10-million-a-year
superstar.
crowd:
Hogan, Hogan.
- Hulk Hogan's gonna defeat
that mean, nasty giant
because Hulkamania
is running wild.
- He was the ultimate good guy.
People loved him.
- Terry Bollea as Hulk Hogan
transcended wrestling.
Hulk Hogan
was a household name.
Now you could watch
the Hulk Hogan cartoon.
You could eat
the Hulk Hogan cereal.
You could buy
the Hulk Hogan shirt.
You could buy
the Hulk Hogan bandanna.
You could buy the Hulk Hogan
action figure.
You could buy the Hulk Hogan
home weight set.
- And then, of course,
the "Rocky" movie
with Stallone, Thunderlips,
and all that--
it all came together.
- Rocky!
- Catch me!
- He got a starring role
in "No Holds Barred."
And then in 2005,
he launches his very successful
reality show.
- "Hogan Knows Best."
- I really think Hulk Hogan
brought a different element
to wrestling.
He made it more celebrity.
- People would want to take
pictures and autographs
while I was in the restroom.
Or when I was eating dinner,
a lot of people would come up,
you know.
At first, it kind of
scared me, you know,
because I said, my God,
there's nowhere to hide.
- If you're the biggest
all-American hero,
how can you not become
addicted to attention?
- My God, and it was crazy
with the women.
We were like rock stars,
just a different city,
different night,
different bar.
- I personally like
to watch the guys
roll around on the mat.
- And they have great bodies.
- Hulk Hogan was a sex symbol.
And I think all the females
fancied him.
- You hit big
in the WWF at that time.
- Brother...
- Tons of women.
- Let me tell you something.
When I did "Rocky III,"
Stallone was single.
- Uh-huh?
- Right.
- And we were running
pretty hard back then.
- Hey, you've got to be
dreaming of those days.
- I have no idea what possible
extracurricular activities
Hulk Hogan was getting up to
when he was on the road.
But Hogan and Linda remained
married for 24 years,
up until the very public
breakdown
of their relationship.
- I mean, you may not know
who or exactly when,
but you know that he's
acting different.
You know that he's,
you know, showing you
all the signs
of having an affair.
- You were suspicious then.
- But this wasn't
the first time.
I mean, this happened
ten years into our marriage.
And I kept my mouth shut.
I don't know where his career
would be today
had I, you know,
blown the whistle on him then.
- Would you have put up
with everything had you not
discovered that Hulk, Terry,
was having an affair
with your daughter's friend?
- Just a life full of lies.
You just say--wake up one day
and go, can I keep going?
- It's insane having a camera
live on top of you.
Just some things you don't
want the world to know.
- We're getting a better idea
what Hulk Hogan's wife
is looking for
in the divorce
she's asked for.
She wants a share
of the family's two
multimillion-dollar
Florida properties.
The petition says the marriage
is irretrievably broken.
- When I went to the house,
every room was empty.
All my dogs and all
of our animals were gone.
There were pictures of my
family all over the house.
And every closet I went in,
all the clothes were gone.
For so long, I was like
the captain of the ship.
Now all of a sudden, you know,
I don't even have a ship.
- It's just a terrible incident
in his life.
- You are alone
in your house in Florida.
You're nursing a combination
of Xanax and rum.
- Right, right.
- And this--and you're
holding a g*n.
And you write, "3 pounds.
"I remember thinking,
3 pounds of pressure
is all it takes
to pull this thing."
- Yeah.
- "It would be just so easy."
- Yeah.
- Hulk Hogan,
he's in need of support.
And who does he turn to?
His old friend,
radio shock jock
Bubba the Love Sponge.
- I continue to be myself.
I continue to be
politically driven,
opinionated, outspoken,
controversial, in-your-face,
no-holds-barred.
- He keeps trying to get you
to go to his house
and stay there.
And you were like--
- He wants you--
he begs you
to come to his house.
- really is in love
with you, isn't he?
- Well, my wife says
we're a couple h*m*.
- Hogan was staying at Bubba's
house often at this time.
But what came out next
was something
that nobody expected.
A shocking revelation
sets off a domino effect
that would change
Hulk Hogan's world forever.
- And so we're driving home
from the Dollhouse.
And my wife calls me.
And Hogan's down.
And I just told her,
I said, hey, Heather,
have a little sexy outfit on.
And take care of my boy
when we get home.
- Bubba was cheering Hogan on.
And that started
this whole sordid ordeal.
- "The Bubba the Love Sponge
Show."
- I don't want
to break the law.
I don't want to--
I just need to know
what the damn law is.
- Bubba the Love Sponge
was a very popular shock jock
in the Florida area.
- Yeah, it might be.
- It might be too thick.
We'll see.
- Where is the sh*t?
- Get away, here we go.
- Oh!
- My name is Mike Waters,
and I worked
on "The Bubba the Love Sponge
Show,"
where I spent
most of my career.
Tom the Treeman
is completely unfazed.
Bubba the Love Sponge
is the ultimate shock jock.
- Here we go.
Don't tap out.
- We were just stepping
on landmines constantly.
- You know, now you guys
want my wife
to show her hole.
- Hey, you brought it up, man.
We were out of control.
- I'm on fire again!
Ah!
- We eventually worked our way
up to number one in Tampa.
We dominated for years,
just dominated.
I don't know
how he got away with it.
- Let's get you topless
with panties on.
- All right, you can strip me.
- All right.
- We got fined $750,000
because we were too dirty.
Bubba was larger-than-life guy,
amazing talent,
amazingly flawed.
- Whoa, God.
Foley just knocked out
Bubba the Love Sponge.
- Bah-bang.
- Bubba the Love Sponge
was on the periphery
of pro wrestling,
always having pro wrestlers
on his show, especially Hogan.
- Who else can say
they're best friends
with the world's
greatest wrestler?
Hulk Hogan is on the line.
On the line, on the line.
- What's up, Hootie?
- Hootie up. What up?
- Hootie up, Hootie up.
What are you doing?
- Oh, man,
that punch in the face
was like the one heard
around the world.
- Bubba and Hogan
became good friends.
They're both Florida guys.
- First time Hulk Hogan
comes to the show,
you're like,
it's Hulk Hogan.
You know, he's
a monstrously tall guy.
- Then after, like,
six months, you're like,
oh, Hogan's coming in again.
At the studio,
there were rumors
that Bubba was letting Hogan
sleep with his wife, Heather,
and that, you know,
he was taping it.
Certain people have
certain proclivities.
I think he was just
a big voyeur.
- My best friend
my wife
is not that big a deal to me.
- This was one of the craziest
cases that I reported on.
Hulk had sex with Heather
on a number of occasions.
And Bubba had a camera
set up in the bedroom.
And so there were these three
sex tapes of Hulk Hogan.
- Bubba was having trouble
with his wife, Heather.
And they eventually
got divorced.
And his claim was that
he took these DVDs,
and he was keeping them in his
office at work for safekeeping
because he didn't trust his
wife to not get ahold of them
and try to profit off of them.
- But apparently, one
of his disgruntled employees
allegedly stole the tapes.
At the time, Bubba did not
realize that they were stolen.
He only found out when
a gossip website, The Dirty,
published a screenshot
from one of the Hulk Hogan
sex tapes
in early 2012.
It caused a sensation online.
TMZ picked up on it, and it
set the internet shattering.
Bubba suspected
that Matt Loyd, AKA Spice Boy,
stole the tapes.
- We were at 102.5 The Bone
at that time.
And there was a lot
of animosity in the building
between Spice Boy, who left
the show and did nights.
He wanted to wash
his hands of Bubba
'cause Bubba had made him do
a lot of things in the past
that I don't think
he was proud of.
So when Spice Boy
got the DVD,
I don't know if he knew what
he had in his hands or not.
But when he popped it
in the DVD
and he saw the one and only
Hulk Hogan,
he was probably like,
this is the meal ticket.
The day that it came out
in the news,
you know, Bubba was like,
oh, my God.
You know, I can't believe
this is happening.
- When the first pictures
leaked out,
I asked my best friend.
And he goes, oh, I had
nothing to do with this.
I'm praying to God
he's not involved.
- After Matt initially
leaked it to The Dirty,
then it makes its way
to Gawker.
- Gawker at the time
was mostly reporting gossip.
And then it grew from there
to be its own
independent news operation
that was a site where you
could get the real story.
- You get an unfiltered,
sort of the way
that people perceive
celebrities in real time
that you don't get
from any other media.
He said that immediacy
and humor are more important
than accuracy.
And he said, if that means
a lawsuit, great.
- We viewed ourselves
as pirates.
Like, you know, kind of
hoist the black flag
and start slitting throats.
One of the chief offerings
that Gawker had to our readers
was that it was the place
where you could say
what no one else would say,
what every other newsroom
was either too conflicted
or too scared to say.
The one overarching thing
that Nick would repeat
was that Gawker was a place
where you would not
get in trouble
for what you did publish.
You'd get in trouble
for what you didn't publish.
like, to see who could push
the envelope the furthest,
who could write the story
that other people
were incapable of writing.
- We were driven by traffic.
We got bonuses if we exceeded
our traffic targets.
So there was a real intense
game of,
how do you find posts
that are gonna go viral?
By 2012, it was
like a media trope.
There were these sort of
B-list celebrity
sex tapes floating around.
It was like a gross,
funny thing--
Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian.
- Everyone knows
the tape is out there.
But what they want to know
is when they'll
actually be able to see it.
- And at that point,
there wasn't a discourse
around revenge porn.
It wasn't a thing
that was really
on the minds of most people
who are either producing
or consuming these tapes.
It was just a--
almost a genre of story.
- And that's your Paris Hilton
sex tape forecast.
Back to you, Conan.
- There were a bunch
of stories for months
about this sex tape
with Hulk Hogan
that was going around.
And he was a--
kind of a comical,
pathetic figure from the past.
- There was a source
that had emailed me
and said that a client
of his has a package
that he wants to send to me.
- I mean, he was
like a washed-up
former wrestling star.
It was a little bit like,
what are we
gonna do with this thing?
- Tonight
the Showbiz Countdown--
Hulk Hogan's sex tape.
- I'm coming to New York
to talk about a wrestling tour
and our new time slot.
And all of a sudden...
- Gawker posted
clips of the sex tape
in all of its
pornographic glory.
- This is a shameless display
by Gawker.
Who do they think they are?
- The way A.J. answered
the question was,
he actually wrote this essay
on the experience
of what it's like to watch
a celebrity sex tape
of this person who was a hero
of yours when you were a kid.
- I had no problem doing that
because it wasn't really
about the sex portion
of the tape
that I was actually interested.
I had to show
that the sex existed.
I did that
as little as possible.
And mostly, that was
just to really lead
into what was probably one
of the best essays
I've ever written, actually,
in my life.
- It was a sort of commentary
on this culture of sex tapes
that we were finding
ourselves in.
So we published 90 seconds
or thereabouts, which had,
like, a little bit
of actual sex in it.
And it went crazy.
- Here you have
basically an American icon
who's on camera
naked and having sex.
Why wouldn't people want
to click on it,
especially
if it's on a free website?
- Hogan is being slammed
by Gawker.
1 million hits.
- How about that sex tape?
- 5 million.
- That was just like
his in-ring wrestling--
three moves
and a shitty finish.
- 7 million hits
on the sex tape.
The public can't get enough.
- This was
the complete undermining
of the idea of Hulk Hogan
as a mythos.
- It's the worst thing I've
ever been through, bar none.
- Hulk Hogan will take
all reasonable steps
necessary to ensure that all
persons and entities
who were involved in this
are punished
to the fullest extent
of the law.
- Hulk Hogan speaking out
today for the very first time
about the sex tape of him
that just surfaced online,
where he's having sex with the
then-wife of his best friend.
- I never really imagined I'd
see Hulk Hogan's erect p*nis.
It's not something
that Gawker needed to post.
- That was very hurtful,
really hurtful for Hulk.
- Got to tell you,
I actually
feel really badly for Hulk.
It looks like he was completely
blindsided by something
that happened a long time ago.
And really,
when you think about it,
obviously, such an incredible
invasion of privacy.
- When the tape was released,
I don't think there was really
a pro wrestling fan
who didn't at least
click on it out of curiosity
because Hulk Hogan was a
household name at that point.
It was definitely
a bombshell in pop culture.
- I'm going full blown
to try to find out
who did this to me and why.
- The first time I heard about
the sex tape was on the news.
Who would do that to Terry?
He's married.
He's got children.
- So I called Bubba,
and I said,
you're my best friend,
brother.
Please tell me
if you did this,
because if you didn't do this,
I love you forever.
If you did this,
we were never friends.
- Terry Bollea had spent
his entire career,
his entire life fabricating
the idea of Hulk Hogan.
And in one fell swoop,
that entire illusion
was shattered.
- At the end of the day,
at a really weak moment,
I made a wrong decision.
- Gawker got takedown requests
all the time.
But it's newsworthy material,
and it's protected
by the First Amendment,
and we're gonna keep it up.
- You know, this is a crime.
It's a felony.
You know, there's supposed
to be two-party consent
when you film anything
sexually.
I had no idea
the cameras were there.
- Hulk Hogan's privacy rights
were invaded.
It's wrong for a media company
to take footage
that was secretly filmed
in a private bedroom,
showing a person
without their clothes on
and engaged in adult activity,
and to let the world
watch that.
- Denton argues Hogan
made his sex life
part of his public persona.
Gawker says that's fair game
for the press to cover.
- We wouldn't stay married
for 22 years
if he sucked in bed, so...
- Yeah, he knows
what he's doing.
- He's good.
- He can deliver it.
- I understand why
A.J. Daulerio posted it.
But, like, even by the time
Gawker published that,
there was this sort of,
you know,
growing queasiness
around sex tapes
and, like, people publishing
that kind of stuff.
- Just because of one
incident one night
with someone who I was
in love with, people assume,
oh, she's a sl*t.
I don't know, it's something
that's changed my life forever.
- Not only for Hulk Hogan
but also for Terry Bollea
the person,
the damage done by the release
of the sex tape
was such that it was
a humiliation of him,
damaging to his reputation,
a smear on his character.
And all these things are true.
- Never have I ever
been this embarrassed.
And never has my world
been turned upside down
in such a fashion.
I would not have posted that.
So...
- Are you any nearer
to knowing who betrayed you?
- At this point, no.
- The story of the Hulk Hogan
sex tapes is more convoluted
than many of the pro wrestling
storylines you might see.
But nobody expected
who he'd have to fight next.
- After Matt Loyd has stolen
these DVDs from Bubba's office
and it made it to Gawker,
he reaches out
to a California attorney
named Keith Davidson, who is
sort of known in the industry
as a guy who can sell
or buy sex tapes.
And they come up
with this scheme
to try and sell the tapes
back to Hulk Hogan
because they knew
that Hulk Hogan
was very concerned
that there might be
even more damaging tapes
out there.
- Hogan's getting hit
with more tapes?
Just how many are there?
- Hogan, who was supposed to
be promoting Impact Wrestling,
was instead doing
damage control,
fielding questions
about his marriage
to his second wife, Jennifer.
- Are you afraid your marriage
won't survive this?
- I have never seen
anybody hurt this bad
or flipped upside down
like this.
So it's the worst thing I've
ever been through, bar none.
- But even as he's out there
fighting to keep his life
together,
that very same day,
Keith Davidson reaches out
to Hulk Hogan's personal
attorney/fixer, David Houston,
and says,
my client has come
into possession of three tapes
that we think Hulk Hogan might
be interested in purchasing.
Let's start the bidding
at $1 million.
In response to that,
David Houston goes to the FBI.
And the FBI says,
keep talking to them.
We will record the calls.
- David Houston, Hulk Hogan's
personal attorney,
and sex tape broker
Keith Davidson
agree to meet
in Florida
at the Sandpearl Hotel
and actually exchange
the original copies
of the tapes for $300,000.
The hotel room is bugged.
David Houston
is wearing a wire.
The FBI is in
the room next door.
And then Keith Davidson
enters.
- Then Keith Davidson goes
to bring in his client, Lori.
Keith Davidson said,
she's kind of an intermediary
for this other guy, Mr. X.
- David Houston says, look,
we have to watch the tapes.
We have to make sure
this is real.
- There was something
on the tapes
that Terry Bollea didn't want
to be revealed to the public
because he knew
it would destroy
his reputation as Hulk Hogan.
So then they hand over
the check,
and the FBI bursts in.
- It's an FBI Royal Rumble.
- Keith Davidson
and Lori, the intermediary,
are arrested.
And she says,
I'm representing Matt Loyd.
- The FBI is really
bringing the heat.
After that FBI tag team,
Hogan can turn his attention
back to the main event.
And this is one fight
he's not gonna back down from.
- Hulk Hogan filed
two lawsuits today.
The first lawsuit was filed
against Heather Clem
and her ex-husband,
Bubba the Love Sponge.
Approximately six years ago,
the Clems secretly videotaped
Mr. Hogan
having private, consensual
intimate relations
in a private bedroom.
The second lawsuit filed today
was against Gawker Media.
It alleges that the defendants
posted excerpts
- In 2014,
Nick Denton still believed
that he would be able to reach
a settlement with Hogan.
But it gradually
became clear that this
was a real risk to Gawker.
- And you realize,
well, wait a minute.
Wait, this was supposed
to settle, and it's not.
And there's a trial date.
That's happening?
- Hulk Hogan was not
just after money.
Most people who sue
media companies want money.
They don't necessarily want
to punish the media outlets.
So, like, something was off
about the whole thing.
There was a rumor going
around Tampa that someone
is bankrolling Hulk Hogan.
- We later found out
Peter Thiel was behind it.
- PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel
has now been reported
as the man
who has been financing
media wars
against Gawker Media.
- Peter Thiel first started
to form his vendetta
against Gawker
because in 2007,
Gawker wrote a post saying,
"Peter Thiel is totally g*y,
people."
- The point of that post is,
there's an open secret
about Peter Thiel
that no one talks about
that everybody knows.
He lives a life as a g*y man
in Silicon Valley.
- Back around that time,
that was still kind of
a pretty spicy thing to do.
- They were a singularly
sociopathic bully.
And there were many people
that did things
far worse than me.
And so, you know, I was
convinced that if I didn't
do something, nobody would.
- Hogan's secret financier,
Peter Thiel,
had turned us into
public enemy number one.
He was the most vindictive man
in Silicon Valley,
and he wanted our blood.
- I was one of the jurors.
And I remember them telling us
it involved Hulk Hogan.
And I kind of had that eye-roll
attitude, like, oh, no,
here we go again, you know?
Another Hollywood sex tape.
I was very nervous.
I mean, it's not like
it's life or death.
But it was a huge deal.
- Gawker founder
Nick Denton argues
the case is really about
whether celebrities
can use the courts
to intimidate reporters.
- This is where celebrities'
desire to control their image,
to manage their own business,
the business
of their image,
comes into conflict
with our business,
which is to put out
the real story.
- The reason that they
posted this and the reason
that they kept it up--
power and profit.
- Hulk Hogan's entire claim
was based on
not being aware
of the recording.
- When you were having
these sexual encounters
with Heather, you testified
that you had no knowledge
you were being recorded, right?
- Yes, sir.
- Bubba the Love Sponge
had made
public statements
that Hulk Hogan
knew he was being recorded.
So we want to call
Bubba the Love Sponge
to testify.
But Bubba pleads
the Fifth Amendment:
I'm not gonna testify
'cause I might be
implicating myself in crimes.
- Bubba the Love Sponge
never took the stand.
Refusing to testify was a
real blow to Gawker's defense
because his testimony would
have called into question
Hogan's claim that he didn't
know he was being recorded.
- Nothing in the trial
had gone right for us,
and everything had gone wrong.
- When Hulk Hogan
first took the stand,
I almost got emotional
and overwhelmed,
because nobody should have
to fight for their privacy.
- And this tape
totally sabotaged me.
Just my demeanor, I just felt
like I was turned inside.
It was just
constantly on my mind.
It's just--it's just like
this overhanging cloud
that will not lighten up.
- In a case like this,
if something is newsworthy,
the courts have to protect it.
But on the other hand,
even First Amendment freedoms
are lessened somewhat
when we're dealing
with private facts
about people's private lives.
- Our position was,
you're a public figure.
You can't claim an invasion
of your privacy and then also
go out there
and invite people to peer
into your private sexual life.
- Does your wife
give you third input?
- Oh, God.
- Oh, third, fourth, fifths.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Hulk Hogan got on the stand
and insisted
that even though Hulk Hogan
was happy to boast
about his sex life
and didn't care
about his privacy,
Terry Bollea did care
about his privacy.
And this was the sex tape
of Terry Bollea,
not Hulk Hogan,
the character that he played.
- No, I--
What the are we doing?
Like--like, come on.
- It was absolutely insane.
- Well, as Hulk Hogan,
you know,
I've said I slammed an elephant
and surfed on a tiger shark
and, you know,
body-slammed Moby-d*ck.
So it's--it gives you
artistic liberty,
when you're Hulk Hogan,
to be a character.
And it's entertainment.
- I felt like I was in
a police interrogation.
They were just badgering him
about switching
back and forth from Hulk Hogan
to Terry Bollea.
- So when you are
in Hulk Hogan mode,
rules and things like telling
the truth do not apply?
- When he was on radio shows
in the character of Hulk Hogan,
he would talk very openly
about the size of his p*nis.
- Do you have any doubt,
as you sit
in that witness stand today,
that you were discussing
the length of your p*nis
on Bubba's radio program?
- Well, it's not mine,
because mine isn't that size.
But we were discussing
the length of Hulk Hogan's.
- Seriously?
So you--
- No, seriously, I do not have
a 10-inch p*nis.
No, I do not, seriously.
- OK, fair enough.
- They couldn't wrap
their head around it.
Hulk Hogan's a character.
But Terry Bollea
is a human being.
He gets overwhelmed and hurt,
just like the rest of us.
- Did you give consideration
to plaintiff's privacy
before you published
the video excerpt?
- Given the fact that he's
a public figure, I did not.
- They opened up
all of these questions about
people's privacy,
about celebrity,
about what is acceptable
to pry into and what isn't.
- Do you think that celebrities
have no right to be let alone,
say, even in their own homes?
- I think it's limited
at this point.
But, you know, public figures
live a different life.
- You know,
when the Pamela Anderson
sex tape came out,
there was just no
real consideration
about how that affected her
as a person, as a mother.
There was definitely
a lot more understanding
when the Hulk Hogan sex
tape came out about, yeah,
you can't really
do these things.
- I don't care
if he's a celebrity.
I don't care if he's
on every TV show,
every radio show talking
about sex, being salacious.
That does not give them
the right to do what they did.
And I hope this jury
sympathizes with him.
- I was in Gawker's offices.
Everyone came in.
The office was filled.
And everyone was watching
a live stream together.
- I don't think, even then,
anyone quite, like,
realized that the trial
was potentially
existential for Gawker.
- We presumed
that we were protected.
- When the verdict was read,
everyone kind of was in shock,
I think.
- We decided to award
Hulk Hogan $140 million.
- He's done it,
ladies and gentlemen.
- A sex tape is not something
I find newsworthy.
I don't want to see it.
I don't need to see it.
- How you feel, Hulk?
- I feel great.
I'm really happy about
everything that's happened.
And I think
we made history today
because I think
we protected a lot of people
from maybe going through
what I went through.
So we're very excited
and very happy.
- I mean, we were stunned.
It was gobsmacking.
- Nothing at Gawker was going
to be the same after that.
- The online
media company Gawker
is on the auction block
this morning.
The company filed for
bankruptcy just three months
after losing
that invasion-of-privacy case
involving ex-wrestler
Hulk Hogan.
- The Hulk Hogan trial
was not about Hulk Hogan.
The object of the trial
was to destroy Gawker.
Peter Thiel has determined
what the new rules are.
And it's ironic, a sort of
Silicon Valley tech champion
was funding
the effort of a man
who was suing Gawker to keep
his vile gutter racism
from becoming public.
- As you know,
Gawker has said
that you initially
filed the claim
to prevent the publication
of r*cist language
from you in another tape.
- Mm-hmm.
- Following the release
of the sex tape,
there were a number of stories
that came out
from another of the tapes
revealing that Hogan
had said some
extremely r*cist things
in between
his sexual escapades
with Bubba's wife.
- WWE and Hulk Hogan
are now parting ways
over r*cist slurs Hogan is
heard repeating over and over.
- Hogan is heard on the tape
talking about his daughter,
Brooke, who he accused
of sleeping
with an African American.
- This is hard to watch,
the implosion
of an American icon.
- What he said
when he believed no one
would ever hear these things,
it shows you the real person.
This wasn't Hulk Hogan
the superstar.
This was Terry Bollea.
These were the things
that he believed.
- The man I met
and I know would
never have said racial slurs.
- A lot of people
turned against him.
It was a--
I worried about it
a lot for him.
Almost put him
in a point of depression.
- What can you tell me
about the use of the *-word
in one of those tapes?
- The use of the *-word
goes along with that day,
when I bottomed out.
People that know me
know I'm not a r*cist.
Some of my best friends,
you know, are Afro-American.
The people that know me
know I'm not a r*cist.
The WWE fans know me.
They know I'm not a r*cist.
It's just a horrible mistake.
- I was pretty stunned
at just how...
aggressively r*cist
what he said was.
And the apologies
that he's issued
have, to me, rung very hollow.
- He said that the Black
wrestlers in the--
aren't ready to have you back.
- Well, I didn't
hear that, brother.
I just heard him
make a comment...
- Let's go.
- On TMZ about it,
about--he said he--
I should apologize.
And I totally agree, but not
to the Black wrestlers,
to all the wrestlers.
- He's saying things
that he genuinely
feels or believes
unprompted,
with the belief
that no one was around.
- Do you blame Bubba
as much as you blame Gawker?
- No, I'm accountable.
I blame myself, you know.
- I know it's not easy
to root for me.
I know.
I know that it's
not easy to think
Bubba's being the victim.
- Bubba the Love Sponge
is the ultimate schemer.
I think it was a big
propaganda campaign
that he's the victim of this.
So he--you know,
he did all this.
But it's not his fault.
- I did let him
my wife.
And my home surveillance
system got--
captivated it, as it
captivates everything.
That's the--my own--
that's my only dabbling
in the whole thing.
- It was really hard to...
handle the fact that he
did this to me, you know.
It was--
I don't how to say it.
- One last question,
you know, WWE--
Hulk Hogan wants a comeback.
Do you think
it's ever happening?
- I think,
after apologies to all
the existing
African American talent, that,
you know, he would be a--
we're a forgiving world.
- In 2018, Hogan made
his first reappearance
on WWE Television.
- Team Hogan, Team Flair.
Did you ever think,
30 years later,
you guys would still
be continuing the rivalry?
- Well, you know, I figured
it would never end.
- It's what you've all
been waiting for,
the one, the only Hulk Hogan.
- He appeared again
at WrestleMania 35
to open the show
and got a huge cheer.
You are always going to want
to hold on to your heroes.
- How do you turn this into,
you know,
the happy ending that I'm sure
you've prayed for?
- You know, just everybody
that knows me knows who I am.
But for those who don't,
I'm gonna fight
to win them back
one day at a time.
And there's nothing else
I can do except be honest.
- It just shows you
how fame, money,
power, celebrity
can overcome any scandal,
even a r*cist sex tape.
- I feel like a kid again
because the fans
are so excited.
There's so much energy here.
I feel kind of like
Hulkamania has been reborn.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register