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The civil case brought by WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan's against Gawker.com over the leaking of clips from the sex tape of himself and the former Heather Clem will finally officially go to trial this Monday 3/7 in Tampa, Florida as opening statements will be heard from each side.
The six person jury (as well as three alternates) who will decide the fate of the $100 million lawsuit against Gawker were picked over the course of this past week. There are six women and three men on the jury.
Hogan, at the time the tape was made, was not aware he was being filmed. The tape was stolen from the office of his former best friend, DJ Todd "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem, by a former Clem staffer who then leaked clips and attempted to sell the tape. The FBI eventually became involved in the case.
Late Friday, a new twist in the case was announced that Clem was refusing to testify in the civil trial. His attorney announced that should Clem be brought in to testify, he would be invoke the Fifth Amendment, the right to stay silent. The reasoning for Clem's decision was not discussued although attorneys for Gawker have implied that Clem may have previously perjured himself during depositions related to the case. It was revealed earlier this week that Clem had settled with Hogan regarding the existence of the tapes for only $5,000 as well as the agreement that he would assist Hogan going forward regarding the legal fallout of their release.
Gawker had intended to call Clem to the stand. Hogan's legal team had no plans to do so.
Gawker published a review of the tape and posted snippets of the video edited together in 2006. Hogan claims that the website invaded his privacy while Gawker has stated that the footage was "newsworthy" because Hogan had spoken publicly about his sex life in the past, including appearances on the Howard Stern Show, opening the door for the website to cover the tape.
Gawker have painted the situation as a First Amendment issue and that they had the right to publish the story from a journalistic standpoint. They have out and out stated that should they lose the case, it will be the end of them as a business.
Hogan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, "I have never been afraid to fight for what I think is right, I promised in the beginning that I would see this through to the end to hold Gawker accountable. And I will."
Hogan's attorneys claimed in court last year that his wrestling career was "over" due to the July 2015 leak of footage from the tapes, which had been marked confidential by the court, featuring Hogan using racial and homophobic slurs, which led to Hogan being let go by WWE, which severed all ties with him and as of this writing, has maintained their distance. Hogan has repeatedly apologied for his use of the slurs, citing that in the time and era he grew up in Florida, the language was used conversationally amongst his friends.
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