Hulk Hogan vs Gawker: Jury award wrestler $25m in punitive damages for 'humiliating' sex tape

The punitive damages come on top of $115m (£80m) the jury imposed after two weeks of trial. Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan told reporters that he was overwhelmed with support by fans, adding that his legal team "made history."

On Monday 21 March, the jury awarded Gawker Media with a $15m judgment and its owner Nick Denton with $10m. It also assessed $100,000 against AJ Daulerio, the Gawker editor who decided to post the edited sex video and wrote the post that accompanied it, according to an AP report.

One juror, 35-year-old Salina Stevens, said that watching the video posted by Gawker convinced her to side with Hogan. "I believe his privacy was violated, and that's not OK," she said. "The video was worse than I expected... not so much the sex part of it but the conversation. I just feel like if he knew he was being videotaped, he would not have spoken about the things he spoke about."

Gawker Media's general counsel said that the media company expects the multimillion dollar award will be overturned by an appeals court. Heather Dietrick said in an email that because the jury was prohibited from knowing about "prior court rulings in favour of Gawker, prohibited from seeing critical evidence gathered by the FBI and prohibited from hearing from the most important witness, Bubba Clem," that an appeals court could overturn the case.

Bubba "The Love Sponge" Clem, a radio shock jock, claimed that he would plead the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer if he was called to the trial, according to Radar Online.

"We are confident we will win this case ultimately based on not only on the law but also on the truth," Dietrick said.

Michael Sullivan, representing Gawker, said: "The $115 million judgment "is punishment enough" and "is already far beyond their means."

"The amount of that verdict could already be debilitating for Gawker Media," Sullivan said.

"Your verdict will send a chill down the spine of writers, producers and publishers," he added.

Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a video of him having sex with Bubba "The Love Sponge" Clem's wife, Heather Cole. Hogan said he didn't know he was being taped.

The ex-wrestler's ex-wife Linda Hogan was stunned with the jury's verdict in Hogan's favour. "It made me a little bit sick," Linda told Inside Edition. "I don't know how he can sleep at night getting that money for doing what he did in a roundabout way. It's dirty money."