Goodbye, Gawker, and we have a now openly gay billionaire to thank for its demise.
The media company just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of the $140 million lawsuit it lost to Hulk Hogan, who sued the company for invasion of privacy after it leaked his sex tape in 2012.
Shortly after the verdict, it was revealed that openly gay Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel had personally financed Hogan’s lawsuit in an act of revenge against the company for trying to out him back in 2007. (Talk about an angry queen with a grudge.)
Related: Gay Billionaire Peter Thiel And Hulk Hogan Reportedly Tag Teamed Gawker
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In a statement released this afternoon, Gawker announced it had reached an asset purchase agreement with the media company Ziff Davis. The agreement is reported to be somewhere between $90 to $100 million. The deal is not yet set in stone, however, so other bidders are welcome to offer a higher price in an auction supervised by a bankruptcy court. We are eager and hopeful Gawker has a second act.
Gawker already sold a minority stake to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners back in January in an effort to raise money to defend against the lawsuit that would have been impossible without Thiel’s backing.
Related: 5 Reasons Peter Thiel’s Gawker Vendetta Is So Dangerous
Scroll down to see what folks are saying…
https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/741319118062821376
https://twitter.com/miracleofsound/status/741360063240114176
Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our nation. Like them or not, sad to see NYC media giant @Gawker forced to the brink.
— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) June 10, 2016
The potential chilling effect on speech from billionaires bankrupting news outlets they don't like is terrifying https://t.co/ZOSPYe0nNF
— Mazel Tov Cocktail (@AdamSerwer) June 10, 2016
What a beautiful day,and the good doesn't prevent the better! In the present I AM always grateful,only good happens to me. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) June 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/mdudas/status/741323038222868480
Gawker Media had unionized employees, making this the second union Hulk Hogan had a hand in destroying.
— Charlotte Ariel Finn (@CharlotteOfOz) June 10, 2016
#GAWKER IS DEAD#GAWKER IS DEAD
THANK YOU BASED @HulkHogan https://t.co/E2zwj02YFZ
— Quatroking ? (@Quatroking) June 10, 2016
Remember when the New York Times got Iraq wrong and people died, so Peter Thiel decided to bankrupt NYT?
— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) June 10, 2016
Sukhrajah
With all due respect to Gawker, could they not have afforded a better legal team, all along?
It does not take a genius to figure that, considering their behaviors, they were likely to be challenged, legally. How does a company get this large, and not be properly defended by its legal team. No editor ever had to ‘speak with legal’ about content?
The evident failure of that decision, and of properly choosing a legal team that could defend against their actions – is the fault of Gawker, and so is their demise.
I have very little to agree, or disagree, with Gawker – but there are laws, rules, and a very litigious national identity. Gawker should have planned appropriately – either by not choosing to place themselves in harm’s way (by being open to be sued), or hiring the staff needed to properly defend them.
Brian
Peter Thiel needs to get real. If he thinks that his support of Hulk Hogan is going to stop internet rumor and gossip, he’s going to be awfully disappointed. Get real, Thiel.
As for Hogan’s alleged sex tape, if you don’t want it leaked, simply don’t make it. It’s really that simple, stupid.
NateOcean
Yeah, they “said” it was Chapter 11, but you know how that goes…
…probably closer to Chaper 7.
truckproductions
peter thiel is a scumbag.. anyone who supports him in his crusade knows very little about his politics.
KM201
@truckproductions: Agreed, considering he’s a neo-nazi supporter and is currently attending the secretive and mischievous Bilderberg conference as we speak, the man is an enemy of free speech, the working class and anyone in our community who respects journalists and the right to report the truth; however inconvinient it is for some to hear. Shame on his defenders. I hope Thiel gets his comeuppance in the near future.
KM201
*inconvenient. Queerty wouldn’t let me post a correction.
MarionPaige
as per usual, you have to wade through tons of media smoke screen to get through to anything remotely authentic about the network of Cayman Island Holding Companies and Hungarian businesses collectively known as GAWKER. Specifically,
1. The domain names used by the Gawker blogs are reportedly owned by a Hungarian company (Blogwire Hungary) that Hulk Hogan wasn’t able to sue.
2. Since Hulk Hogan is still trying to sue Blogwire Hungary, it is probably safe to say that the US entity Gawker Media LLC only owns outdated links to old news stories. Recall when Gawker’s Fleshbot was first allegedly sold, the woman who “bought” Fleshbot sued claiming that Blogwire Hungary never turned over the domain name fleshbot.com
Peter Thiel is correct, even a millionaire like Hulk Hogan didn’t have the assets to cut through all of the shell companies that exist around “Gawker”. Gawker’s corporate structure was created around the fact that it would be sued a lot and that even if someone did get a huge judgement against “Gawker” in the US, Gawker’s domain names would still be hidden safely in Hungary.
There is a famous / infamous domain name portfolio that no one has successfully gotten a domain name from via a US lawsuit. “Gawker” is setup exactly like that domain name portfolio.
The only thing Nick Denton is likely to really feel is the fact that he was sued personally and therefore that Denton’s US assets can be seized by Hogan.
Brian
@MarionPaige: That’s very interesting about the shell companies.
Sweetie Pie
Freedom of expression doesn´t include violating people´s individual privacy
Byebye Gawker…
MarionPaige
do search of Blogwire Hungary, you will find that the media rarely mentions it.
“Gawker Media has been going through a big corporate revamp over the past year or so. The ultimate parent company has never been in the U.S.: it used to be Blogwire in Hungary, but now Blogwire Hungary has become a subsidiary of a Cayman Islands entity called Gawker Media Group Inc, which also owns various U.S. operations like Gawker Media LLC, Gawker Entertainment LLC, Gawker Technology LLC, and Gawker Sales LLC.” http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rusty-weiss/2012/08/23/revealed-liberal-website-attacked-romneys-cayman-schemes-actually
Brian
@MarionPaige: Fascinating…and concerning.
Eldred
@Brian: So much to say, yet so little knowledge of the subject.
Yep, this is Queerty for you.
MarionPaige
ferreted out the real gem in Gawker’s bankruptcy filing from Bloomberg.com, i.e.,
Nick Denton is asking that the automatic stay on judgements Gawker obtained by filing for bankruptcy be extended to also cover the individual Nick Denton.
It appeals that Denton is “concerned” that Hogan will try to gain control over Blogwire Hungary (and Gawker’s domain names) by seizing the shares Denton personally owns in Blogwire Hungary. Again,
you get a peek into what kind of expensive legal expertise was required against Gawker.
Chris
Since I’m in favor of transparency, I’d hope that the judge overseeing this case will require the disclosure of the shell companies that are behind Gawker.
The more I learn about this, the less it seems about Freedom of the Press and the more it seems about the concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few, inter-connected shell companies that think nothing of trampling on people in search for profits.
But that’s just me.
mdbuck67
@truckproductions: The only scumbag here is Nick Denton, who made a fat living off the pain of others. Pathetic you can’t see that through your myopic partisan hate.
@MarionPage: THANK YOU for bringing the real truth to this forum. Nobody should be mourning a setback for a free press on this one. May Denton and the other vile POSs at Gawker rot in hell.
mastik8
I hope no one thinks this is the end of Denton. Far from it.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
On the positive side: potentially no more Jezebel!
I would miss Gawker (kinda), Deadspin, and the science-y one (whose name I can never remember), not that I was anything other than the most casual of readers, but good snappy, somewhat smug and self-satisfied, snark and smart-assery was to be had there and in the comments too.
Now if only some sinister technofascist billionaire would take down Huffington Post Queer Voices! (Sidebar: what is it about queeny douchebags named Noah?) But those techie types are as likely to support the SJW-powered Newspeak machine’s “Queer” agenda (not to be confused with the separate but affiliated Outrage-Industrial Complex) as oppose it.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Da fuck!?! When did I turn into into a swivel-eyed rght wing reactionary? Damn you social justice warriors and your Tumblr outrage porn look you’ve done to me!
Bad Ass Biker
@Brian: Brian, you are so correct about Hogan’s sex tapes. There was a lot of controversy on another gay site, but it finally boiled down to the fact that in this day and age of the internet, if you are a celebrity or anyone else for that matter, you are stupid to make a sex tape and think that it will not eventually appear somewhere.
captainburrito
Amazing that even Hulk Hogan could not afford to sue without his backing. Not sure if the cost of the justice system and damages awarded scare me more or the way they set up the company to make it so difficult.
MarionPaige
not only does Denton have this confusing / intricate network of LLCs and offshore business entities to shield his Hungarian assets from US lawsuits but, The US Gawker LLC has two insurance companies for lawsuit coverage. In fact,
What really got Nick Denton’s attention was when Hulk Hogan amended his lawsuit to exempt Gawker’s insurance companies. When that happened, and when Hogan refused a $10 million settlement, Gawker realized someone was out to inflict real harm.
Nick Denton structured Gawker in anticipation of lawsuits. Gawker was operated no doubt on the belief that US Freedom of The Press Laws and Off Shore Cayman Islands Holding Companies allowed Gawker to print whatever it wanted about anybody.
Even a millionaire like Hulk Hogan doesn’t have the resources to go after Denton’s Hungarian assets. As Far As I Know, no one in the US has been able to maintain a viable lawsuit against Blogwire Hungary
MarionPaige
search …
Blogwire Hungary Szellemi Alkotást Hasznosító Korlátolt Felel?sség? Társaság
Atldeuce
Peter Thiel didn’t bankrupt Gawker. Posting publicly, without consent, a private video and naturally losing a lawsuit did. So it would have been more fair if Gawker had gotten away with it because Hulk Hogan couldn’t have afforded to bring and wage this lawsuit? How would you feel if your private videos, text messages or personal info had been splashed in the public.
MarionPaige
is Nick Denton even a US Citizen? With Denton, it looks like you have
A British Born Guy with dual Hungarian citizenship crying FREEDOM OF THE US PRESS to defend this array of offshore shell companies he created that generates money not taxed in the US by dumping on the privacy of American Citizens.
Gossip is that Denton will soon file for personal bankruptcy in the US, though most of his assets are probably offshore.
Pete
Chapter 11 isn’t toast. It’s breathing space from debtors for re-organization. Chapter 7 is toast
MyDadPulledOut
Wow, so many haters here. An openly gay, self-made billionaire, and all the queens here can do is bitch and complain. This is why successful gays avoid our community at all costs…
MarionPaige
Get the complete picture of Nick Denton’s Lawsuit Proof Gawker Media Bunker at The Bitchless Blog at http://www.bitchless.net/index.php?showtopic=107062
It turns out that The US Gawker that filed for bankruptcy doesn’t own Gawker’s domain names and trademarks
http://www.bitchless.net/index.php?showtopic=107062