Gawker CEO Hits Back at Peter Thiel for Funding 'Vendetta' Lawsuit
June 02 2016 - 5:40PM
Dow Jones News
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 hasÂ
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)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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