On Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015

Jeff Bezos. | AP Photo/Susan Walsh Jeff Bezos sides with Gawker in its battle with Peter Thiel

Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos last night took a side in the rift that has opened between Silicon Valley and the media.

"The best defense against speech that you don't like about yourself as a public figure is to develop a thick skin," he said. "You can't stop it."

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed last week that he had secretly funded wrestler Hulk Hogan's successful $140.1 million lawsuit against Gawker, which published a portion a sex tape in which Hogan appeared, for invasion of privacy. He further said that he was actively seeking other potentially aggrieved parties to sue the company, with a goal of destroying it financially.

The campaign followed a report on a Gawker Media site, Valleywag, which revealed that Thiel is gay.

"What's that saying?" Bezos asked the audience at a digital media conference in California sponsored by Recode, a site with a vast audience in Silicon Valley. "'Seek revenge and you should dig two graves — one for yourself.' You have to ask yourself how you want to spend your time."

Bezos joins eBay founder Pierre Omidyar on Gawker's side. Omidyar, founder of First Look Media, said his company is providing legal assistance and filing amicus briefs on Gawker's behalf.

