EARLIER THIS YEAR, GAWKER FACED A LAWSUIT AND LOST IN THAT
LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED BY HULK HOGAN.
COCKER HAD POSTED A SEX TAPE THAT HAD BEEN LEAKED OF
HULK HOGAN, AND AS A RESULT, SINCE THEY DID SO WITHOUT
HIS CONSENT, AND SINCE THAT WAS FILMED WITHOUT HIS
KNOWLEDGE THEY LOST THE LAWSUIT.
"THE WRESTLER HOOKER CONSUMED GAWKER MEDIA FOR INVASION OF
PRIVACY AFTER IT PUBLISHED A SEX TAPE, AND A FLORIDA JURY
RECENTLY AWARDED THE WRESTLER, WHOSE REAL NAME IS TERRY JEAN
BOLLEA, $140 MILLION."
THE BIG STORY IS HOW HULK HOGAN, AN INDIVIDUAL DIDN'T
NECESSARILY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO TAKE ON GAWKER, GOT THE
RESOURCES TO TAKE THEM ON AND ONE THAT CASE.
APPARENTLY HE HAD A SECRET BENEFACTOR, PAYING ABOUT
$10 MILLION FOR THE LAWSUIT.
PETER THIER, A COFOUNDER OF PAYPAL.
HERE HE IS, HE'S NOT MY FAVORITE PERSON ON THE PLANET.
HE IS A PLEDGED DELEGATE FOR DONALD TRUMP, HE IS A
LIBERTARIAN.
THERE ARE MANY QUALITIES ABOUT THIS INDIVIDUAL THAT I FIND
UNFAVORABLE, BUT I DON'T FEEL SO BAD ABOUT WHAT HE DID IN
THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
PETER THIEL WAS ATTACKED BY COCKER BACK IN 2007.
TAKE YOURSELF BACK INTO 2007,
BEFORE THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAD MADE MUCH LEEWAY.
THERE WAS STILL A LOT OF HOMOPHOBIA IN THE COUNTRY,
AND I THINK THE TOLERANCE WE ARE SEEING FOR THE GAY
COMMUNITY NOW JUST DID NOT EXIST IN 2007.
PETER THIEL WAS ATTACKED BY COCKER IN A HEADLINE THAT SAID,
"PETER THIEL IS TOTALLY GAY, PEOPLE."
THAT, AND A SERIES OF ARTICLES ABOUT HIS FRIENDS AND
OTHERS THAT HE SAID RUINED PEOPLE'S LIVES FOR NO
REASON, DROVE HIM TO MOUNT A CLANDESTINE WAR AGAINST COCKER.
THAT IS WHY HE GAVE HULK HOGAN AS MUCH AS $10
MILLION TO WIN THIS CASE AGAINST GAWKER MEDIA.
PETER THIEL TALKED ABOUT THIS TO THE NEW YORK TIMES.
HE SAID IT WAS LESS ABOUT REVENGE AND MORE ABOUT
SPECIFIC DETERRENCE.
HE SAW GAWKER USING A UNIQUE ADEQUATELY DAMAGING WAY OF
GETTING ATTENTION BY BULLYING PEOPLE EVEN WHEN IT WAS NO
ATTENTION ñ NO CONNECTION TO PUBLIC INTEREST.
"I CAN DEFEND MYSELF.
MOST OF THE PEOPLE HE ATTACK ARE NOT PEOPLE IN MY CATEGORY.
EVEN SOMEONE LIKE TERRY WHO IS A MILLIONAIRE AND IS FAMOUS
AND A SUCCESSFUL PERSON DIDN'T QUITE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO
DO THIS ALONE WELL I THINK HE MAKES A REALLY INTERESTING
POINT, BECAUSE GAWKER DOES BELIEVE IN PUBLISHING
STORIES THAT HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO NEWS VALUE, AND SIMPLY DO
BULLY CERTAIN PUBLIC FIGURES.
I DO NOT AGREE WITH PUBLICATIONS OUTING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT
COMFORTABLE BEING OUTED YET.
GAWKER DOES NOT HAVE ANY QUALMS ABOUT THAT, AND GAWKER RECENTLY
ñ NOT RECENTLY, MONTHS AGO HAD PUBLISHED A STORY ABOUT AN
EXECUTIVE IS VERY PERSONAL SEX LIFE THAT HAD NO TIES TO
ANYTHING.
THIS PERSON WAS NOT ANTI-GAY, THEY WERE NOT ANTI-ANYTHING,
NEVER REALLY CAUSED PROBLEMS, GAWKER JUST DECIDED, WE KNOW HE
HAS A SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THIS PERSON, IT'S A JUICY STORY SO WE
ARE GOING TO PUBLISH IT.
THEY JUST RUIN PEOPLE'S LIVES BY LEAKING VERY PERSONAL, PRIVATE
DETAILS ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUALS AND I DON'T AGREE WITH IT.
SO I THINK PETER THIEL MAKES AN INTERESTING CASE.
I AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ANA, I THINK
HE REALLY DOES MAKE AN INTERESTING CASE.
I THINK THERE WERE POINTS RAISED IN THE KNOW I ñ IN THE NEW YORK
TIMES ARTICLE ABOUT HOW MUCH, WILL HIS FINANCIAL INFLUENCE
HAVE WEIGHT IN THE CASE, AND IF IT DID THAT'S NOT FAIR.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SPECULATING THAT IT WON'T THAT HE'S
JUST HELPING HIM OUT.
AS A LESBIAN, I HAVE A VERY COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP WITH
OUTING PEOPLE, BUT I'M VERY MUCH A PRODUCT OF MY TIME.
5716, I'M 25
YEARS OLD, SO I'VE GROWN UP REALLY WHERE BEING GAY WAS FINE.
IT'S NEVER BEEN AN ISSUE FOR ME, I'VE NEVER HAD ANY BACKLASH, SO
WHEN I HEAR ABOUT PETER THIEL HAVING THIS VISCERAL REACTION TO
BEING OUTED AND MOUNTING A CAMPAIGN AGAINST COCKER ñ AND,
YOU KNOW, I REALLY DISAGREE WITH SOME OF THE THINGS COCKER HAS
PUBLISHED, BUT THERE'S STILL A DISCONNECT FOR ME, FROM THE GAY
COMMUNITY, THAT THIS ANGER CAME FROM BEING OUTED AS GAY.
BECAUSE TO ME, IT'S JUST, OKAY?
YOU'RE GAY.
SO, LEAVE THE GAY PART OUT OF IT FOR A SECOND, BECAUSE WHAT WAS
REALLY INTERESTING TO ME WAS THE HULK HOGAN CASE BY ITSELF.
FOR THOSE OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS OF THAT CASE,
HE WAS GOING THROUGH A TERRIBLE TIME WITH HIS WIFE.
THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING A DIVORCE.
HE WAS DEVASTATED, AND SO HE HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS ALSO A PUBLIC
FIGURE, A RADIO SHOW HOST, BUBBA SOMETHING.
HIS FRIEND BASICALLY SAID, WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER MY
HOUSE AND HAVE SEX WITH MY WIFE?
SO HE GOES OVER, AND HE HAS SEX WITH HIS FRIENDS WIFE, AS
HIS FRIEND IS SECRETLY FILMING HIM.
AND THEN IN THAT TAPE YOU CAN HEAR HIS FRIEND SAY
SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, WELL IF WE EVER NEED TO
RETIRE THIS IS OUR TICKET.
BASICALLY SAYING THAT HE COULD USE THIS AS A WAY OF EARNING
MONEY, AND SO THIS TERRIBLE PERSON LEAKS THE TAPE TO GAWKER,
AND THEN GAWKER PUBLISHES IT.
IT DID HAVE TERRIBLE REPERCUSSIONS ON HULK
HOGAN'S LIFE.
HE DID NOT KNOW HE WAS BEING FILMED, OR THAT IT WOULD BE
LEAKED TO THE PRESS.
SO THAT'S A GOOD REASON WHY HE ONE THAT CASE.
IF YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO TAKE
ON A MEDIA GIANT, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF WINNING THAT CASE.
WE HAVE THAT TWO-TIER JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND PETER THIEL
SIGN OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY GET REVENGE BUT HELP HULK HOGAN
IN HIS CASE.
THAT I AGREE WITH, BECAUSE HIS PRIVACY WAS UNQUESTIONABLY
VIOLATED.
IT'S MORE THE DISCONNECT FOR ME THAT THE ANGER CAME FROM
BEING OUTED.
I GUESS I'M JUST FORTUNATE IN THAT I DON'T EXPERIENCE
THAT ANGER.
IF I HAD BEEN OUTED I IMAGINE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SIMILAR
EXPERIENCE TO WHEN I CAME OUT OUT OF MY OWN VOLITION.
BUT I'M ALSO NOT A MAJOR TECH BILLIONAIRE, SO I HAVE NO
IDEA THE SORT OF DEALS THAT MIGHT AFFECT.
IT'S JUST THAT THE ANGER IT STEMS FROM IS KIND OF STRANGE,
BUT I THINK THE CAMPAIGN HE HAS MOUNTED, IN A LOT OF THESE CASES
ñ BECAUSE THE ONLY CASE WE KNOW HE IS BACKING IS HULK HOGAN'S
CASE, BUT IS VERY POSSIBLY COULD BE BACKING OTHER ONES.
I THINK THESE ARE JUST CAUSES.
I'M A LITTLE SPLIT ON BOTH OF THEM.
BOTH CASES I UNDERSTAND, BUT JUST OPEN BOOK, I THINK GAWKER
IS GARBAGE.
DO I AGREE WITH PETER THIEL'S MESSAGE?
I THINK IT'S VERY POLITICAL.
I THINK HE'S USING HIS WEALTH TO HINDER THE WAY NEWS IS
BEING BROADCAST.
IF THAT WAS BEING BETRAYED ANYWHERE ELSE, FOR
INSTANCE, DONALD TRUMP DOESN'T LIKE THE WAY CERTAIN MEDIA
BROADCASTS HIM ñ
VIDEO BUFFERING ñ
FOR ME TO SYMPATHIZE WHEN IT COMES TO GAWKER.
IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SUPERSIZE WHEN WE HAVE SEEN WHAT THEY
DO TO PEOPLE'S LIVES FOR THEIR OWN MEANS, TO GET CLICKS.
I JUST THINK IT'S IRONIC WHEN I SEE VIA OPEN LETTER THEY CAME
OUT FROM THE NEWS EDITOR TO PETER THIEL, BECAUSE IT
FORMS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GAWKER'S LONG CAREER, A
PERSONAL CONNECTION.
THEY TRIED TO MAKE SOME SORT OF PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THEIR
STAFF, TO THEIR PEOPLE, TO TRY AND OBVIOUSLY GET SOME SORT OF
REACTION AND SYMPATHY, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT GAWKER HAS NEVER
STOOD BY.
THEY HAVE BEEN VERY UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT THE
ARTICLES THEY PUBLISHED, THE LIVES THEY'VE RUINED.
LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT SOMETHING, IT'S NOT LIKE PETER THIEL WENT
INTO THE COURTROOM AND GAVE JURORS MONEY AND SAID YOU NEED
TO FIND GAWKER GUILTY.
GAWKER BROKE THE LAW.
THE ONLY THING THAT PETER THIEL DID WAS REALIZE THAT HULK HOGAN
DID NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO FIGHT GAWKER, AND GAVE HIM
THE FUNDS TO DO SO.
HE DID NOT DO ANYTHING UNLAWFUL, THE HEART OF THIS STORY IS
GAWKER DOING HAVING LEGAL AND SOMEBODY HAVING THE ABILITY
TO FIGHT THEM AS A RESULT OF THAT.
BY THE WAY, I THINK THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
PART OF OUR CONSTITUTION AND I BELIEVE IN FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.
BUT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THINGS THAT ARE ILLEGAL
JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE PRESS.
YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DEFAME PEOPLE OR PUT OUT MISINFORMATION
ABOUT PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE LIBELOUS OR VICIOUS.
THERE ARE LAWS THAT RELATE THE PRESS AND THEY DO SO IN A
WAY THAT MAKES SENSE.
GAWKER BROKE THOSE LAWS AND THEY ARE PAYING THE CONFERENCES.
AS YOU MENTIONED, NICK DENTON DID PUT OUT AN OPEN LETTER TO
PETER THIEL, AND I WANT TO READ YOU ONE PART OF THIS.
IT'S A LONG LETTER, I CAN'T READ ALL PARTS OF IT BUT HE SAYS
HE WANTS TO HOLD A DISCUSSION IN PERSON, WITH A MODERATOR OF
PETER'S CHOOSING, IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE, UNDER THE AUSPICES
OF THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISM, OR ANY WRITTEN
DISCUSSION ON SOME NEUTRAL PLATFORM SUCH AS A MEDIUM.
JUST TELL ME WHEN AND WHERE.
BASICALLY SAYING, LET'S HAVE A DEBATE ABOUT THIS IN AN
OPEN FORUM.
IT'S KINDA IRONIC BECAUSE, GAWKER WERE GIVEN AMPLE
OPPORTUNITY TO REMOVE HOGAN'S VIDEO.
THEY WERE ñ THEY INSTEAD SAID, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
IT JUST SEEMS A LITTLE BIT THAT NICK DENTON IS LIKE, OH JESUS WE
MAY BE TRULY GOING UNDER, SO AM TRYING TO CREATE SOME SORT OF
PERSONAL CONNECTION TO SAY ñ BECAUSE SOME OF THE QUOTATIONS
IN HERE, AS I SAID I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF GAWKER, THE ONE HE
PUTS IT IN TERMS OF, IT'S NOT JUST AS ITS INDIVIDUAL
JOURNALISTS, PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO LEARN THEIR JOB ñ
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR JOB.
HE TALKED ABOUT HOW THE JOURNALIST WHO REPORTED THE
WHOLE COGAN CASE IS NOW OUT OF WORK AND OWES $100,000.
HE TRIES TO MAKE GAWKER SEEM LIKE THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE.
I DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT PETER THIEL HAS DONE,
OR HIS MOTIVES BEHIND IT ñ
HE MAY USE CASES HE MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH JUST
TO GET REVENGE ON A COMPANY HE HASN’T AGREED WITH.
AND HE HAS EVERY RIGHT TO, BECAUSE THEY OUTED HIM IN A
TIME WHERE IT MUST'VE BEEN A REALLY HARD THING TO FACE.
BUT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO GAWKER, THEY'VE BEEN LIVING THIS
LIFE FOR HOW LONG NOW, IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL PEOPLE
REALIZE THAT HULK HOGAN STOOD UP TO THEM AND WHAT PEOPLE CAN
DO IT.