Bezos Slams Thiel For Funding Gawker Suits

When Peter Thiel admitted last week to bankrolling lawsuits against Gawker Media, he said it was retribution for that company’s publication Valleywag outing him nearly a decade ago. Fellow billionaire, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, said over the weekend that he disagreed with that reasoning. “The best defense against speech you don’t like is a thick skin,” he said during an interview with Recode at the Code Conference in Ranch Palos Verdes, Calif. “If you can’t tolerate critics, then don’t do anything new or interesting.” Notably, Bezos also owns the Washington Post. Thiel funded Hulk Hogan’s defamation suit against Gawker for publishing portions of the former wrestler’s sex tape. A jury awarded Hogan more than $115 million in that case. But, “seek revenge and you dig two graves. One for yourself,” Bezos said. “How do you want to spend your energy?”