Imagine if halfway through the plot, Nick Denton had discovered that Peter Thiel had been scheming to destroy his company. Not only is this itself a juicy story that would have exploded as it was published and burnished Gawker’s outsized reputation, but it would also reveal Thiel’s sensitivity. That he had tried and failed to secretly settle his score against Gawker would have been a perennial taunt, and Thiel would have looked stupid for getting caught (to be outed as gay was upsetting, but to be shown as bumbling?).
