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.
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