Against the ropes: Judge nixes Denton’s bid to rent Soho pad

Gawker founder wanted to rent 76 Crosby condo for $12,500-a-month

From left: Nick Denton and 76 Crosby
From left: Nick Denton and 76 Crosby

A bankruptcy judge has nixed Gawker founder Nick Denton’s bid to rent out his Soho loft for $12,500 a month.

What gives? The annual income wouldn’t cover the expenses on the $4.25 million condominium at 76 Crosby Street.

Denton — who declared bankruptcy after Hulk Hogan won a $140 million settlement against Gawker Media over an unauthorized sex tape — is personally liable for $10 million.

“It is quite understandable that [Denton] does not want to sell his former home,” a lawyer for Hogan (Terry Bollea) wrote in court documents, according to the Wall Street Journal. Nonetheless, the lawyer said, the rent would leave Denton short by $97,000 a year.

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The 2,556-square-foot pad has two bedrooms, 12-foot ceilings and a private entrance on Spring Street. Denton put the tony digs on the market for $15,000 per month back in May with Stribling’s TRData LogoTINY Pamela D’Arc.

After Gawker’s settlement with Hogan, Univision paid $135 million for Gawker Media. It will maintain sites like Jezebel, Gizmodo and Deadspin, but shut down Gawker.com earlier this month. Under terms of the deal, Denton will earn $400,000 over two years in exchange for not working for Gawker’s competitors.

Last week, Denton said he was getting “out of the news and gossip business” in a letter to Gawker’s staff. [WSJ] E.B. Solomont