Hulk Hogan takes the stand in $100M sex tape trial, says mean wife drove him to romp with pal’s spouse

Body-slamming, elbow-throwing, leg-kicking Hulk Hogan blamed his estranged wife’s verbal beatdowns for making him weak enough to sleep with his best friend’s wife, the wrestling legend told jurors Monday.

 

The always-confident Hulkster said his self-esteem was so low that he finally took his pal up on his offer to share his wife.

But he said he immediately regretted the romps, which came back to drop-kick him years later when a video of his signature moves with the woman surfaced online.

“It’s turned my world upside down,” Hogan said at the Florida trial, where he’s suing Gawker Media for posting the video in 2012, nearly six years after the tag-team event. “I was humiliated. My life has changed drastically.”

The shame was compounded by the body blow of learning that his best friend, radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge, likely leaked the tape, a recording Hogan said he never knew existed.

Bubba, whose real name is Todd Clem, has denied sharing any video of Hogan having sex with Heather Clem.

Hogan took the stand, looking to pin Gawker for publishing video that shows the 2006 sexual encounter.

A six-member jury will determine if Gawker violated Hogan’s right to privacy by publishing the video in 2012. The video is the focus of the $100 million invasion of privacy lawsuit against the news website.

Hongan 62 — whose real name is Terry Bollea — wore all black to court, including his signature bandana.

Hogan said that as his decades-long marriage to Linda Hogan crumbled, the wrestler became friends with Bubba. The Clems — who had an open marriage — suggested on many occasions that Hogan have sex with Heather.

Hogan said he believed the proposition was “weird,” but eventually he went along with it.

Video of the encounter was later obtained and published by Gawker.

Defense attorney Michael Berry countered that Gawker’s then-editor-in-chief, A.J. Daulerio, used only as much of the video as necessary for a narrative about the public’s fascination with sex tapes. Berry claimed that Gawker isn’t aware of the person who sent it a DVD featuring the footage.

The 30-minute video was originally edited to three minutes, then 1:41, only nine seconds of which is sex, Berry said.

“(Daulerio) wanted a highlight reel of those glamorous moments that would complement the commentary,” Berry said.

According to Hogan, the video was made without his knowledge.

Gawker has argued that Hogan was willing to talk about his sex life on numerous occasions, including during interviews on Howard Stern’s radio show.