Celebrity Sex and the Gawker Case

Celebrity sex is in the news again with the bankruptcy of Gawker after the multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought against it by Hulk Hogan. It is unlikely, however, that the success of the Hogan suit — which was recently settled for $31 million — will lessen the public’s interest in celebrity sex. Apparently many people get their jollies from seeing famous people engaging in sex, and some celebrities even encourage such voyeurism.

We must be careful, however, to distinguish among the different kinds of celebrity sex. First, there are celebrities who deliberately make sex videos and distribute them in order to enhance their popularity and their careers. The distribution may be overt or subtly leaked, but any celebrity who actively participates in the public... Read More