Battle of the billionaires? Ebay’s founder supports Gawker

Bloomberg

First Look Media, a news organisation founded by Silicon Valley billionaire Pierre Omidyar, said it’s seeking to join a lawsuit in support of Gawker Media LLC in the high-profile case brought by wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Peter Thiel, another technology billionaire and co-founder of PayPal, said this week that he’s helping finance Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, and other plaintiffs suing Gawker. A jury found in favour of Bollea in March, and the New York media company was ordered to pay $140 million.
Beau Friedlander, a spokesman for First Look, said the group is organising supporters to file a friend-of-the-court brief arguing in favour of Gawker. Friedlander said the case threatens press freedom under the First Amendment.
“We will be paying close attention as this case moves into its appeals phase,” Friedlander wrote in an e-mail. “To be clear, this is about press freedom principles upon which our company was founded, and about which we care deeply.” Before starting First Look, Omidyar founded EBay Inc., the auction site that made him a billionaire. EBay acquired Thiel’s PayPal in 2002, and the two companies split last year. Omidyar’s First Look owns the Intercept, a news website staffed by journalists who revealed details of USA government spying with the help of Edward Snowden.
Thiel declined to comment. Gawker didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The two have a contentious relationship; the website commented on Thiel’s personal life in 2007 before he discussed it publicly.
This week, Gawker Chief Executive Officer Nick Denton challenged Thiel to a debate about free speech and journalistic ethics. Thiel described the media and celebrity-focussed website as a business built on ‘humiliating people for sport.’
Bollea sued Gawker in 2012 over the publication of a video showing him getting close with a friend’s wife, claiming the website cost him endorsements and inflicted emotional harm. Paying the damages in that suit could be potentially cripple the company, and Gawker hired a banker to explore strategic options, including a possible sale. Details of First Look’s planned amicus brief were reported earlier by the New York Post.