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Gawker Media Chief Executive Nick Denton filed for personal bankruptcy protection yesterday, according to court documents that name his largest creditor as Hulk Hogan, a former professional wrestler who won a $140 million court judgment against the news website over a sex tape it posted, Reuters reported. Denton listed assets of $10 million to $50 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million in his chapter 11 petition filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy in June after Hogan won the judgment. The wrestler had accused the site of violating his privacy by posting a sex tape featuring Hogan having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, the radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. According to court documents, Denton is personally liable for $125 million of the $140 million judgment won by Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea.

Gawker Media LLC founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton appears to be headed for bankruptcy after a federal judge declined to shield him from a legal battle with former wrestler Hulk Hogan and his billionaire backer, MarketWatch.com reported yesterday. During a hearing in Manhattan, Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein denied Gawker’s request to extend chapter 11’s litigation shield to its founder, who isn’t currently in bankruptcy. “I expect my personal bankruptcy will be anything but straightforward,” Denton said in court Tuesday, adding that he expects the onslaught of litigation to continue “to be as aggressive as it possibly could.” The ruling is a blow to Denton, who says he can’t pay his share of a $140 million invasion-of-privacy judgment handed down earlier this year in favor of Terry Bollea, the wrestler’s real name. The judgment, which is being appealed, led Gawker to file for chapter 11 protection last month.