Hulk Hogan to have his day in court over $100m Gawker sex tape

Wrester Hulk Hogan is suing US gossip site Gawker for $100m (£62.97m) in damages, after it published a 2006 sex tape of him having sex with the then-wife of his best friend.

The trial, which is due to be held in Florida on 6 July, marks the first time a celebrity sex tape case will be heard before a jury. Hogan has taken the website publisher, Gawker Media, to court, claiming publishing the video was an unjustifiable invasion of privacy.

The financial fallout would be disastrous for the publisher Gawker should it lose, which has to prove that the sex tape was "newsworthy" enough to be posted.

The video shows Hogan, 61, having sex with Heather Clem, the ex-wife of his former friend, DJ 'Bubba the Love Sponge'.

After receiving a DVD of the 30-minute film from an anonymous source, Gawker Media published sections of the tape in 2012, received more than 5 million views.

Hogan's attorney, Charles Harder, says his client's right to privacy was violated by the video's publication.

According to court documents, Hogan – whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea – has suffered "injury, damage, loss, harm, anxiety, embarrassment, humiliation, shame and severe emotional distress".

"He has the right to be naked in a private bedroom without the world being permitted to watch," Harder told Fox News. "The First Amendment does not allow cameras into private [bedrooms] when the subject is not aware of it and does not consent to it."

Heather Dietrick, who president and general counsel for Gawker, disagrees.

"Here is this tape of this guy having sex with another man's wife, with his blessings. No judgement from us," Dietrick told Fox News. "Gawker doesn't care what you do in regard to that. But people should be able to know and make their own decisions as to what is going on in the whole world."

"I don't think you have to be a First Amendment scholar to understand the importance of the story, whether or not it's about a sex tape or some other piece of leaked info – it is important for a reporter to tell a real story in the face of misinformation out there," she added.

Hogan has accused Bubba The Love Sponge of leaking the tape. The DJ denies being the source of the leak, alleging that the veteran wrestler supplied Gawker with the tape.

Bubba The Love Sponge has also claimed that he was "brainwashed" into allowing Hogan to have sex with his then-wife, accusing the wrestler of trying to "play the victim".