Only 7% of Americans think Gawker was right to publish the sex tape of Hulk Hogan

In 2012 Gawker Media published a tape of the then married Hulk Hogan and the estranged wife of one of his friends having sex. The release of the tape caused Hulk Hogan a number of personal and professional problems and he responded by suing Gawker. Earlier in 2016 Hulk Hogan was awarded huge damages, but Gawker Media is now seeking to avoid paying Hulk Hogan the $140 million he was awarded by a jury in Florida by calling for a retrial.

Research from YouGov shows that a large majority of Americans (77%) agree with the jury that it was unacceptable for Gawker to publish the video of Hulk Hogan having sex. Only 7% say that it was acceptable.

More broadly, Americans widely believe that the private sex tapes of people should not be published, including in cases of infidelity. Even when it comes to politicians the vast majority of Americans say that it is unacceptable for media outlets to publish private sex tapes of them cheating on their partner. Only 17% say that it is acceptable to expose a politician in this way, while 9% say it is acceptable to do the same to celebrities and ordinary people caught cheating.

80% of Americans also say that it should be illegal for media outlets to publish tapes like this, with 8% saying it should be legal.

Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.