6. Hulk Hogan Sex Tape
In 2012, a short snippet of a sex tape between Hulk Hogan and Heather Clem (the then-wife of radio host,Bubba the Love Sponge) surfaced online via Gawker. Apparently, this was a set-up as after Hogan left the Clem household, Bubba can be heard on the tape telling his wife “If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket.” Then, last year, more footage of the tape was released featuring Hogan telling Heather that he was disgusted by the notion of his daughter dating a black man and Hogan said the n-word numerous times. It cost Hogan his job with WWE.
As easy as it is to be glad that the ordeal exposed Hogan as a racist (that is if Hogan’s attitude towards African Americans hasn’t changed in the last few years), it’s important to recognize that this situation isn’t black and white. Hogan’s off-handed remarks aside, he never consented to being recorded and had his privacy invaded. Does it make what he said any better? Of course not. Regardless, Hogan successfully filed a lawsuit against Gawker for distributing the tape, as well as against Bubba for filming it without his permission. He settled with Bubba, and then put Gawker out of business.
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