Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Lawsuit Case Update: Jury Awards Hulk Hogan $115 Million in Privacy Suit Against Gawker

The Jury has awareded $115 million to ex-pro wrestler Hulk Hogan in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media on Friday.

"We're exceptionally happy with the verdict. We think it represents a statement as to the public's disgust with the invasion of privacy disguised as journalism. The verdict says no more," the Bollea team said in a statement to PEOPLE.

However, Gawker seemts it plans to appeal the case. In the statement Gawker said as below;

"We're disappointed the jury was unable to see key evidence and hear testimony from the most important witness," says Gawker's statement. "So it may be necessary for the appeals court to resolve this case. Hulk Hogan's best friend Bubba the Love Sponge - who made the tape and offered up his wife in the first place - originally told his radio listeners that Hulk Hogan knew he was being taped. The jury was only able to hear a questionable version of events. Bubba should have been required to appear in court and explain what really happened."

"Who among us thinks it's a good idea to send a serious message through TMZ?" said Michael Sullivan, an attorney for Gawker. "TMZ is the place a celebrity goes to get even more attention for a sex tape."

Sullivan addressed while the video received 2.5 million views, there was small financial benefit for Gawker.

"There was no sustained Hulk effect on the site's traffic," Sullivan said.

Variety reports that the jury discoverd that Hogan - real name Terry Gene Bollea - had suffered "severe emotional distress" in the last three years since the sex tape published. Hogan said that the sex tape Hogan having sex with his best friend's then-wife was secretly recorded.

The taping happened before Hogan and his ex-wife Linda divorced in 2009. Hogan sued for privacy invasion and much of his testimony centered on the difference between his character, and Bollea, the private citizen.

The implication on Gawker Media isn unclear , which employs about 250 people across seven websites.

The two Gawker defendants, Mr. Denton and Mr. Daulerio, testified during the trial, as did its former managing editor, Emma Carmichael. All three said that the video of Mr. Bollea was a matter of public concern and not a gratuitous exercise in voyeurism.

In a statement, Denton said in a statement:

"Given key evidence and the most important witness were both improperly withheld from this jury, we all knew the appeals court will need to resolve the case. I want to thank our lawyers for their outstanding work and am confident that we would have prevailed at trial if we had been allowed to present the full case to the jury. That's why we feel very positive about the appeal that we have already begun preparing, as we expect to win this case ultimately."

In his closing statement for the defense, Mr. Sullivan insisted that uncovering the sometimes less-than-laudatory activities of public figures "is what journalists do, and at the end of the day it's what we want journalists to do."