First Amendment Under Attack? TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman Weighs in With Panel of Experts (Video) – TheWrap

A panel of lawyers said the case between Hulk Hogan and Gawker was a debate between First Amendment rights and privacy rights, but TheWraps Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman disagreed.

In a society where we have the rich getting richer and the media fragmented and difficult to sustain as it is, this is the kind of thing that could happen all the time, Waxman said in a panel discussion Thursday. It doesnt sound like speech. It sounds like something rich people get to do.

Waxman spoke on TheWraps panel The First Amendment in The Age of Trump following a screening of the new documentary Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press.It charts how Gawkers decision to publish Hulk Hogans sex tape led to a trial that has potentially opened the flood gates for billionaires to make news outlets they dont like disappear.

Also Read: Is Freedom of Expression in Danger in Trump Era? First Amendment Experts Weigh In (Video)

Waxman shared an instance when she and TheWrap were sued by a millionaire heiress whose pride was hurt when she didnt like the story that ran about her.

We had to suffer this lawsuit going through the courts for two years, a million dollars was spent, it wouldve put us out of business at that time, and the case died one day when the woman failed to show up in court, and the judge threw it out, Waxman said.

Thankfully TheWrap was covered by insurance, but Waxman pointed to Sheldon Adelson privately purchasing the Las Vegas Review-Journal and John Olivers recent report on Sinclair Media Group as examples of how anyone could use their wealth to influence the media.

See Nobody Speak: Trials of a Free Press's latest POWER MOVE.

Anybody can decide that they dont like something that was written about them, and theyre going to be encouraged by Trump, Waxman said. These are all really concerning.

Waxman added that the right to privacy is still a serious matter, but shes less sure about the specifics of the Hulk Hogan case as depicted in Nobody Speak.

The idea that Hulk Hogan and Terry Bollea have two different penises is something very difficult for me to get my brain around, Waxman said.

Watch the video of Waxmans comments above, and check out the complete video and recap here.

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First Amendment Under Attack? TheWrap's Sharon Waxman Weighs in With Panel of Experts (Video) - TheWrap