Hulk Hogan sex tape was leaked by Bubba the Love Sponge’s disgruntled ex-employee: report

Hulk Hogan wants authorities to pursue criminal investigations into both the illegal recording and the leak to Gawker.com.
A new report pins the release of Hulk Hogan’s secret sex tape on a disgruntled ex-employee of Florida shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

The former staffer felt stiffed when Clem left his job at SiriusXM in early 2011 and took the tape public as payback, RadarOnline reported Thursday.

"Even though Bubba knew how much the Hulk sex tape would be worth, he didn't stab his friend in the back, and he's not the one who released it," an unidentified source told Radar.

Hogan’s lawyer said even if the new report is true, Clem still betrayed the wrestling superstar by filming him having sex with Clem’s wife in the swinging spouses’ home six years ago.
“He’s still despondent. He had been assured repeatedly that Bubba had nothing to do with this and knew nothing about it,” lawyer David Houston told the Daily News Thursday.

Bubba the Love Sponge and his wife Heather Clem pictured in 2010.

“I appreciate the idea there are two separate issues here with recording and dissemination, but one does not cure the other. It doesn’t mean it’s okay that Bubba chose to secretly videotape his best friend if he’s not the one marketing it,” Houston said.
He said Hogan wants authorities to pursue criminal investigations into both the illegal recording and the leak to Gawker.com.
“We’re coming, there’s no question,” Houston said. “Anyone thinking Hulk is hiding in the weeds to pump up the value of this recording is sorely mistaken. He’s not going to buckle and give in and sign a ridiculous contract to distribute this trash. That’s not going to happen."

Hogan, 59, admitted Tuesday that his partner in the grainy footage is Clem’s estranged wife.
He said Clem put his blessing on the horny high jinks to help Hogan deal with depression over his crumbling marriage to ex-wife Linda Hogan six years ago.
Houston said Clem pressed record without Hogan’s knowledge and is heard at the tail end of the tape discussing its street value.
"If we ever did want to retire, all we'd have to do is use this footage,"
"[CLEM] didn’t secure the tape properly and showed it to a bunch of people," the source told Radar. "That's why they're all in this mess now."
Clem's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Houston said he contacted police in Florida Tuesday to ask about issues of jurisdiction ahead of filing a police report
He said Hogan also will file a civil lawsuit against Gawker.com no later than Monday.

The suit, expected in federal court in Florida, will include charges of invasion of privacy, damage to reputation and damage to commercial viability, he said.
There may be an issue with a three-year statue of limitations on a charge related to the surreptitious recording, a source told The News.
Hogan previously told NBC's "Today" show that the tape happened during a "low point" in his former marriage.