Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan took the stand during a trial in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday to testify against Gawker Media. Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) is in the middle of a lawsuit against the online media company for its 2012 story that accompanied a leaked clip of a sex tape featuring the former WWE star and Heather Clem, the ex-wife of Tampa radio shock jock DJ Bubba the Love Sponge.
Hogan, 62, seemed to be in a good mood as he entered the courtroom Monday morning and told reporters that he felt "pretty darn good" and confident that the trial would end in his favor. The Hulkster is suing Gawker for $100 million for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and he testified about how the sex tape leak affected his personal life and career.
"I felt numb," the six-time WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion said in court. "The news just hit me that they told me that Bubba was on the end of the tape saying, 'Heather, this is our retirement.'"
"My hands started shaking.... I could not stop shaking," the former reality star continued. "It turned my world upside down. I was embarrassed by what it did to me as a person, but it was even embarrassing as a character. Hulk Hogan was embarrassed."
Gawker, which was founded by Nick Denton, is calling upon its First Amendment Rights: freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Michael Berry, an attorney representing Gawker in the trial, said that Hogan's claim that the release of the sex tape had a negative effect on his life is unfounded by the fact that Hogan had openly boasted about his sex life in the past.
Hogan explained there's a difference between Hulk Hogan the character and Terry Bollea, and admitted in court that he "embellished a little bit about the number of women" he's been with.
On Tuesday, Hogan took the witness stand again as lawyers for Gawker played back interviews with TMZ and Howard Stern that Hogan did following the leak of the tape. Gawker attorneys cross-examined Hogan, pointing out inconsistencies in Hogan's testimony and the comments he made during his previous interviews.
"I was probably in the Hulk Hogan mode," Hogan said of his 2012 media interviews. "It gives you artistic ability, to be a character."
