--- description: Hulk Hogan’s battle in court against the popular news website Gawker over a published sex tape was set to begin Monday. title: Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Trial Against Gawker Begins In Florida image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b6b4c1b8a34c90/6988807da988ca11386b6dd5/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Trial Begins In Florida  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2016 4:24 PM CUT  Hulk Hogan at AT&T Stadium before a game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. Hulk Hogan at AT&T Stadium before a game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8, 2013 in Arlington, Texas.Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2016 4:24 PM CUT Hulk Hogan’s [battle in court against the popular news website Gawker](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-hulkhogan-idUSKCN0W91CJ "undefined") over a published sex tape was set to begin Monday, as case that could have repercussions for expectations of privacy in the online age. The former professional wrestler is seeking $100 million in damages from [Gawker](http://gawker.com/ "undefined"), claiming his privacy rights were violated after the website published a secretly recorded tape of him in bed with the former wife of his then-best friend, radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge, Reuters reports. Opening statements were scheduled to start in a St. Petersburg, Fla. courtroom, where a six-member jury was seated in the civil trial that could last three weeks, [according to the Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e1a1ebb388b34c829c14f0db47035f2b/opening-statements-begin-hulk-hogan-gawker-lawsuit-0 "undefined"). Gawker has said that its 2012 post is protected free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. > [](https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/704613610170015744) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4249492/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial-sex-tape/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4249492/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial-sex-tape/"},"headline":"Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Trial Begins In Florida","datePublished":"2016-03-07T16:24:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:19:32.741Z","description":"The former wrestler is seeking $100 million in damages","url":"https://time.com/4249492/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial-sex-tape/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b6b4c1b8a34c90/6988807da988ca11386b6dd5/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b6b4c1b8a34c90/6988807da988ca11386b6dd5/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New York Giants v Dallas Cowboys","caption":"New York Giants v Dallas Cowboys","creditText":"Ronald Martinez—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4249492/hulk-hogan-gawker-trial-sex-tape/","name":"Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Trial Begins In Florida"}}]}] ```