Gawker's A.J. Daulerio opens up about his life — and the Hulk Hogan lawsuit that ruined it

A. J. Daulerio, former editor of Gawker.
(Image credit: John Pendygraft-Pool/Getty Images)

It has been over four years since an envelope containing Hulk Hogan's sex tape arrived in Gawker's offices. Today, the website's former editor-in-chief, A.J. Daulerio, is 42, unemployed, and the bank has frozen his life savings of $1,500.

But how did it get this way? Daulerio laid everything bare to Esquire in a profile that details not just the fall of the influential website but, perhaps, the fall of Daulerio himself. Daulerio revealed to Esquire that he is "trying to kick a drug and booze addiction and [is] confronting a recovered memory" involving possible molestation as a child. Daulerio originally insisted that these facts be kept off-the-record, but eventually agreed to have them published.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.