Hulk Hogan's Personal Life Discussed During Sex Tape Testimony
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, was recorded in the mid-2000s having sex with Heather Clem, the former wife of Hogan's estranged best friend Todd Clem, a radio personality in Florida. The Clems divorced in 2012.
Hogan,
wearing a black bandana and matching suit, took the stand again to
answer questions from Gawker's attorneys, which focused on how Hogan
initially responded to the tape's release. The former wrestler also
explained in some detail how the tape affected his life after Gawker
posted it.
Read: Details of Hulk Hogan's Testimony in Sex Tape Trial
The defense brought up an interview Hogan gave to Howard Stern
about the tape. Hogan said he spoke about the incident only because he
was "under heavy fire" from Stern. He added that he never told Stern not
to talk about the tape because that's what a guest does on the
"character-driven" show.
"You have to take the good with the bad," Hogan said of Stern's
show. "That's his show, he's in control ... you have to follow his
lead, that's how his show works."
Clips were then played from the interview, with Stern hyping up the sex tape and Hogan responding with a joke.
"In that context, I was trying to make the best of a bad situation," Hogan replied, later saying there was talk of cancelling the media tour but that "Howard Stern kind of changes the game for you" when promoting an event like wrestling.
Other clips were shown, where Hogan again answered that he was playing the character of "Hulk Hogan" and not himself.
"In that mode, it's entertainment ... you can be a character," he said. "You have the liberty to go way out there."
When asked why he discussed
the tape with reporters, Hogan said, "I just didn't have a choice. We
were getting barraged with the media ... the problem was when we tried
to get Gawker to take it down, they wouldn't take it down ... it just
fueled this fire that was overwhelming."
Hogan
was adamant that when he gave interviews he was concerned fans would
think it was a publicity stunt. He also said the posting of the
30-minute video changed him forever.
"There
were people who thought I might have something to do with this," he
said. "If I was in this thing to make money, there were all these offers
... no, brother we don't want to make money off this, we don't want
this happening."
When the sex tape was posted in 2012, "my whole
world went upside down. This tape totally sabotaged me," Hogan said. He
admitted that he wasn't able to sleep, eat and just "felt like I was
turned inside out."
Even when
meeting with fans, especially children, Hogan said it felt like a cloud
was hanging over his head, adding that he still feels that way now.
Before lunch, Hogan's past
reality show, "Hogan Knows Best," and books about his life were brought
up, to which he again said certain private scenes were part of the
"good and the bad" of being an entertainer.
On Monday, the
wrestler said he had no idea a sex tape was being recorded when he slept
with Clem's wife. The filming of the tape occurred before Hogan and his
wife Linda divorced in 2009. Hogan is now married to Jennifer McDaniel.Gawker's legal team has repeatedly argued that the video's publication is protected by the First Amendment and that images of Hogan are of interest to the public because he is a celebrity.
In
his opening statement, Gawker’s lawyer Michael Berry claimed Hogan
filed his lawsuit in an effort to get “lots and lots of money.” He added
that the website’s founder, Nick Denton, wanted “the public to have the
simple, unvarnished truth…about public figures.”
The
jury in the Pinellas County Circuit Court will determine if Gawker
violated Hogan's right to privacy when it published the video. The trial
is expected to take weeks
No comments:
Post a Comment