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RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif.—Gawker Media Chief Executive Nick Denton on Thursday fired back at venture capitalist Peter Thiel for secretly funding a "vendetta" lawsuit against him and his company, casting himself as a champion of free speech.

"People want to know what the powerful are doing," said Mr. Denton at the Code Conference before a crowd of technology and media executives. "They can exercise power very discreetly."

Gawker is appealing a verdict awarding $140 million in damages to former wrestler Hulk Hogan, who sued the media company four years ago for publishing a video of him having sex with a former friend's then-wife. Mr. Thiel, a billionaire and co-founder of PayPal, told The Wall Street Journal he had spent about $10 million bankrolling the suit, apparently in response to a story nearly 10 years ago identifying Mr. Thiel as gay.

The revelation that Mr. Thiel is behind the lawsuit has divided Silicon Valley executives and media insiders. Many in technology circles have argued that Gawker acted recklessly in its coverage and deserves a comeuppance, while others bemoan what they perceive as efforts to stifle free speech.

Mr. Denton, 49 years old, acknowledged there are stories he regrets publishing including one, that he later took down, identifying a media executive as gay. "There are stories I'm not proud of; we were wild," he said. "I think it's right we be held accountable for our journalism."

Mr. Denton stood by the original Hulk Hogan posting, saying it was appropriate because of the wrestler's celebrity.

He said media is outgunned by Silicon Valley billionaires who are "a thousand times more powerful than the average congressman."

"There needs to be a counterbalance," he said.

A spokesman for Mr. Thiel declined to comment Thursday. In statements to the Journal last week, Mr. Thiel said he gave his financial support to Terry Bollea, whose pro wrestling name is Hulk Hogan, because he believed Gawker violated the privacy of people who couldn't easily fight back.

While some venture capitalists and tech executives were quick to praise Mr. Thiel and criticize Gawker on social media, Mr. Denton didn't face resistance during a question-and-answer session in a room full of techies, and he later mingled with the audience on an outdoor patio.

Earlier during the conference, Amazon.com Inc.'s Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, and eBay Inc. CEO Devin Wenig expressed their support for Gawker. Speaking moments before Mr. Denton, the eBay chief said the rich threatened a "stifling of voices and a real concentration of media" by funding suits against media companies. Facebook Inc. operating chief Sheryl Sandberg said Mr. Thiel would remain a director at the company and that his actions are private and separate from Facebook.

Gawker faces potential insolvency if the lawsuit is upheld. As a result, Mr. Denton said he is "looking at all possible options," without offering specifics. He said Gawker hired banker Mark Patricof and has received interest from potential investors and acquirers.

Mr. Thiel, 48 years old, appears to have been motivated by a story from 2007 that addressed his sexuality on a since-closed Gawker Media site called Valleywag, as well other stories he felt were unfair.

Mr. Denton said he suspects Mr. Thiel may be behind two additional lawsuits Gawker faces over prior stories because Mr. Thiel's lawyer, Charles Harder, is involved. He said he had no additional evidence that Mr. Thiel was involved in those suits.

Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2016 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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