The Worst Idea Of All Time - Introducing: Legal Wars (AN AD?!)

Episode Date: December 16, 2018

Welcome to a podcast that gave us some money to advertise them: Legal Wars - it's good!The courtroom can be a battlefield over money, people’s rights, and even their lives. For some cases, the consequences can affect us long after the verdict is read.Based on extensive interviews and court transcripts, Wondery’s new podcast LEGAL WARS puts you inside the jury box of some of the most famous court cases in American history. Subscribe to Legal Wars today at wondery.fm/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey there Worst Idea-ers, it's Timbo. This is far from normal. This is outside of normal. Normally you'd be getting either an episode or a friendzone. That's not what this is. A company reached out to us, you're humble Worst Idea podcasters, and were like, hey, can we give you a little bit of money to put this on your stream? And I was like, yeah, okay, that's cool. Because what I would do with that money is make an ad and get more people to listen to our podcast. So really it's just a you scratch my back, I scratch yours kind of scenario.

Here's what we're dealing with, folks. The name of the podcast is Legal Wars. Here's the description of the show. From Wondery, Legal Wars host Hill Harper gives you behind-the-scenes access to some of the most famous court cases to have ever graced america's courtrooms that's right the clue was in the title this is about famous legal cases that have gone down in america there are hundreds of legal cases happening every day in the american court system most of those cases will never reach the media's attention this copy

says these are not those cases these are the ones that have riveted the nation and have a real world impact on society big stuff big cases the rodney king trial uh anna nicole smith's battle for her inheritance hulk hogan's takedown of gossip site gawker this is a story that Tim Batt, am kind of familiar with. So this is the little clip that I've selected to share with you guys. I stand by this. This show's great. High production values.

It's very interesting. The host, Hill Harper, he's picked some very fascinating cases. He's talking about them in interesting ways. If you've had it up to here with comedy and true crime, get a load of Legal Wars. They didn't tell me to say that. It's little ad lib i hope you enjoyed it you can tune in subscribe to legal wars from wondery right now wherever you get podcasts you know apple podcasts probably stitcher wherever else you know how i mean you're listening to me. You understand how these things work. Here is a little sample of legal wars.

This episode contains scenes of a sexual nature. In the middle of a candlelit bedroom is a large four-poster bed. There are two people on the bed, a man and a woman. The woman is naked. The man is not her husband. But her husband is in the other room. He calls into the man and woman. All right, listen, you guys, do your thing.

I'll be in the office if you need me. And shuts the door. We just did it earlier today. Who, you and Bubba? The man is in his 50s and is in good shape. He strips down. Even in the dim light of the bedroom, his white tan lines shine out. Phone rings.

The man checks the caller ID. He hits ignore, puts his phone back on the desk, and turns back to the woman on the bed. A.J. Delario stares at a freeze frame on his computer screen. A broad grin spreads over his face. He laughs. Sometimes life is just too good. Delario is the editor-in-chief of Gawker.com, and he just got

quite a scoop in the mail, anonymously. The full, unedited version of the rumored Hulk Hogan sex tape that's been in the news for months. Now, he's staring at a frozen image of Hulk Hogan's manhood.

It's the best gift a reporter like Delario could ever hope for. After all, AJ's claim to fame up until now was being the one to publish star pics of quarterback Brett Favre's penis on Gawker's sports gossip site, Deadspin. AJ picks up the phone to call his editor. It's AJ. I got something. I need an edit ASAP. What is it? You'll see. It's about 30 minutes, but I'm looking for just the highlights.

Maybe a minute or two tops. Dude, what is it? It's the Hulk Hogan sex tape. On October 4th, 2012, AJ Delario publishes his post on Gawker.com. Even for a minute, watching Hulk Hogan have sex in a Kennedy bed is not safe for work. But watch it anyway. An excerpt from the tape, with a running time of 1 minute 41 seconds,

is accompanied by Delario's thoughtful musings on the banality of celebrity sex. Her fellatio is successful, and Hulkamania is about to run wild on her. But then his cell phone rings. He checks it because he thinks it might be his son Nick. The ringtone on Hulk Hogan's phone is a song by his daughter Brooke Hogan called About Us, featuring Paul Wall. He is a proud father. The Post gets 7 million views.

A success by any metric. This is what Gawker does. This is what A.J. Delario does. But this Post is different. This Post will threaten Gawker's very existence. From Wondery, I'm Hill Harper, and this is Legal Wars. Thank you. me. Each week on Legal Wars, we'll bring you one of the many influential cases that have riveted the nation over the years. We'll take you inside the courtroom drama, meet the larger-than-life characters, and look at the real-world impact these cases had on our society. We'll dive into cases as different from one another as the World Trade Center insurance case, Anna Nicole Smith's

battle for her inheritance, and the Rodney King trial that set off the L.A. riots. One of the first things I learned in law school was that a lot of the time it's not really the law that leads to one side or another winning. Oftentimes it's the arguments, the location, and stuff going on outside the courtroom. Today, we're starting with a three-episode series on the grudge match between the world's most famous wrestler and New York's most infamous gossip blog, Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Media. On the surface, it's a story with all the makings of a bad movie plot gone wrong. A sex tape, a best friend's wife, a gossip reporter, and a third act that would shock the legal world. Except this story,

it's all true. But this is more than just a fight over a sex tape. It's a fight over the First Amendment itself. This is Episode One. Yeah, brother. This is Episode 1. Yeah, brother. It's October 15th, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Just another day at the United States Courthouse. Palm trees sway in the hot summer breeze. Nearby strip clubs about to open their doors for the lunchtime crowd.

But today, a crowd of reporters has gathered together to cover a press conference, one that promises the kinds of juicy headlines that lead local news. A trio of men emerge from a car. Two are in suits, and one, well, he doesn't look like anyone else in the crowd, or pretty much anyone in any crowd. He's 6'7", 300 pounds, and sports a black bandana, mirrored Oakleys, and a platinum blonde handlebar mustache that gives him a perpetual frown. His biceps strain through the seams of his black t-shirt. have strained through the seams of his black t-shirt. It's Hulk Hogan, the Hulk, the Hulkster, reality TV star, and WWF world champion wrestler.

The Hulk stands silently behind the two suits, his attorneys. One of the attorneys, Charles Harder, steps up to the mic. His voice is thin and reedy and filled with confidence. Hulk Hogan filed two lawsuits today in Tampa, Florida. The first lawsuit was filed in the Florida State Court. It was filed against Heather Clem and her ex-husband, Todd Allen Clem, also known as Bubba the Love Sponge. To the reporter's credit, no one titters hearing the name Bubba the Love Sponge read in a serious tone by a lawyer in a designer suit.

The allegations in that lawsuit state that approximately six years ago, the Clems secretly videotaped Hogan having private, consensual, intimate relations in a private bedroom. But it's the second lawsuit that will grab the headlines that day. It was filed against Gawker Media and its related entities and individuals. that day. It was filed against Gawker Media and its related entities and individuals. It alleges the defendants posted excerpts at the video site of their website, Gawker.com, for the purpose of obtaining financial profit at the expense of Mr. Hogan and in violation of his rights of privacy. They're seeking damages to the tune of $100 million. But the reporters want to hear from the man himself. Mr. Hogan, you said you didn't know your... No further comments. Please respect the man's privacy. Thank you. Hogan shuffles away with his entourage, flanked by the two lawyers.

The journalists will have to wait. I have to wait. Hulk Hogan is not the first celebrity to sue over a leaked sex tape. But his suit against Gawker will be the biggest, most expensive celebrity sex tape case to see the inside of a courtroom. That was just a preview of Legal Wars. To hear the rest of this episode, to legal wars on apple podcasts wherever you listen to podcasts or find a link in the episode notes oh that voice i kill for a voice like that not really though because otherwise i've just confessed to a crime uh obviously tune into legal wars you know subscribe to that if that's your cup of tea on the worst

idea side of things we've got season four oh it's launching oh so soon um so we'll see you there subscribe to legal wars or you know it's up to you you live your life bye it's a kiss from me it's a gift