Back in 2007, Gawker started a war with Peter Thiel, a prominent venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder.

They outed him as being gay, in a time that being gay was more of a secret lifestyle than a public title. So Thiel is getting his own back.

Thiel recently acknowledged that he is using his wealth to take down the gossip blog, and even backed Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit over Gawker’s publication of the pro-wrestler’s sex-tape.

Thiel admitted he had funded other lawsuits, but refused to name them.

This came after Nick Denton, founder of Gawker, shared his suspicions of Thiel’s involvement with the New York Times early last week.

Nick Denton then released an open letter to Thiel. Here are the first few paragraphs:

Peter Thiel,

Nearly a decade ago, after you had opened up to friends and colleagues, a gay writer for Gawker shared an item with the readers of Valleywag, a section for news and gossip about the rich and powerful of Silicon Valley. “Peter Thiel, the smartest VC in the world, is gay,” wrote Owen Thomas. “More power to him.”

And more power did indeed come to you. Your investments in Facebook and other companies have given you a net worth of more than $2 billion. You have tapped some of that fortune to support gay groups such as HomoCon. It is now clear that gay people are everywhere, not just in industries such as entertainment, but at the pinnacles of Silicon Valley power.

I thought we had all moved on, not realizing that, for someone who aspires to immortality, nine years may not be such a long time as it seems to most of us. Max Levchin, your fellow founder at Paypal, told me back in 2007 you were concerned about the reaction, not in Silicon Valley, but among investors in your hedge fund from less tolerant places such as Saudi Arabia. He also warned of the retribution you would exact if a story was published about your personal life.

Your revenge has been served well, cold and (until now) anonymously. You admit you have been planning the punishment of Gawker and its writers for years, and that you have so far spent $10 million to fund litigation against the company. Charles Harder, the Hollywood plaintiff’s lawyer who has marshaled your legal campaign, is representing not just the wrestler Hulk Hogan on your behalf, but two other subjects of stories in suits against Gawker and its editorial staff.

If Thiel really is concerned with the integrity of journalism he should attempt to take down the really rancid ones like Page 6 or Radar – but they have no part to play in his revenge.

[source: gawker]