As of today, the trial in Hulk Hogan's $100 million civil lawsuit against Gawker is underway in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The pro-wrestling legend believes the media website airing two minutes of footage from a 30-minute video showing him having sex with the wife of his then-best friend is a violation of his privacy, since Hogan claims he didn't know the act was being taped.
This case could be a landmark trial for violation of privacy in relation to tapes of intimacy for the future, and for that reason — not to mention, it involves Hulk Hogan — the entire trial can be livestreamed online via Gawker itself or a Livestream link.
As of Monday, viewers tuning in to livestream the case have seen Hogan's lawyer, Shane Vogt, tell jurors that a segment from Hogan's sex tape in 2012 was published on the gossip site with the intent to harm the retired pro-wrestler.
According to CNN, Vogt further accused Gawker of being guided by the principles of "power and profit," using intimate footage of Hogan to achieve both, adding that the site's philosophy is to "level the playing field, to bring down people like Mr. Bollea — entertainers, celebrities, sports stars."
"What we're going to prove to you is that they intended to harm him," Vogt told jurors during his opening statement today, as reported by CNN.
Vogt even presented jurors with a chart, showing Gawker's uptick in traffic back in October 2012, when Hogan's sex tape clips were published.
"This is what qualifies as news at Gawker," he continued. "This is what they're doing behind the scenes."
He added: "The plaintiff's name in this case is Terry Bollea. He is known professionally as Hulk Hogan, but the plaintiff is Terry Bollea, and he is a man. The defense may try to weave them together. He is a human being, he has imperfections, he has flaws, he makes mistakes."
Hogan, dressed in all black with his signature bandana to match, is expected to testify today and discuss how the tape being seen by the masses affected him and his career with WWE, which wiped his history clear from its Hall of Fame after a leaked recording from a racial tirade of his was released.
