Hulk Hogan, Gawker Restraining Order: Site Must Take Down Explicit Tape, Says Judge
Hulk Hogan has taken aim at Gawker Media for publishing a stolen video of him in an intimate encounter with a former colleague's ex-wife.
The wrestling icon sought a restraining order against Gawker and won, according to several reports this week.
Hogan's representative confirmed that a Florida state court has granted the WWE star's request for a restraining order, prohibiting the site to post clips or photos from the infamous sex tape, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Back in October, Hogan filed a $100 million lawsuit in federal court but it was unsuccessful. He then withdrew the suit in December in order to re-file his lawsuit in a Florida state court.
During a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Pamela Campbell of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County ordered Gawker Media to remove all footage of the video, marking a victory for Hogan.
Consequently, the wrestler plans to sue based on the claim that Gawker infringed in rights by posting the explicit tape.
Furthermore, the ruling demanded that the website and its affiliates to return all copies and versions of the full-length tape to Hogan's attorneys, including clips, photos and transcripts.
However, Gawker has responded to the judge's ruling on the website stating that it will remove the video, but that it will not comply with the order to take down the entire post, citing freedom of speech.
"We publish all manner of stories here," Gawker Media spokesman John Cook wrote in a post on the site this week. "Some are serious, some are frivolous, some are dumb. I am not going to make a case that the future of the Republic rises or falls on the ability of the general public to watch a video of Hulk Hogan… But the Constitution does unambiguously accord us the right to publish true thing about public figures."
Hogan began wrestling in 1977 but broke into fame after joining the World Wrestling Federation (now Entertainment) in the 1990s.
