Jeff Bezos slams Peter Thiel's funding lawsuit against Gawker - CNET

Jeff Bezos believes that billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is out of line for using his fortune to back lawsuits designed to cripple Gawker Media.

"I don't think a billionaire should be able to fund a lawsuit to kill Gawker," the Amazon CEO said Tuesday during a wide-ranging interview with Recode's Walt Mossberg at the Code Conference in Ranch Palos Verdes, Califoia. "The best defense against speech you don't like is a thick skin. If you can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting."

Bezos' Idea come less than a week after Thiel admitted he was the bucks behind a defamation lawsuit that Terry Bollea -- better known as former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan -- brought against the online publication. Thiel reportedly paid roughly $10 million to back Hogan, who won more than $115 million from Gawker in a Florida jury trial in March.

Widespread speculation holds that the lawsuit was the result of longstanding animosity between Thiel and Nick Denton, Gawker Media's CEO. In 2007, Gawker attempted to out Thiel, who is gay, before he was open about his sexuality. Two years later, Thiel told PEHub that Gawker's now-defunct Valleywag was "the Silicon Valley equivalent of Al Qaeda."

"Seek revenge and you dig two graves. One for yourself," Bezos said, bringing up a familiar proverb. "How do you want to spend your energy?"