CLEARWATER — Semiretired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan filed a civil suit against his ex-wife Thursday, claiming she lied and defamed him when she wrote in her new book and told interviewers that he abused her during their marriage and had homosexual encounters.

The 18-page lawsuit claims that Linda Bollea wrote Wrestling the Hulk — My Life Against the Ropes in an attempt to revive her "sagging career," which the suit says plummeted following the couple's 2009 divorce and end of the Hogan family's reality television show.

In the book, published this year by HarperCollins, Bollea accuses her ex-husband, whose real name is Terry Bollea, of repeated acts of physical abuse, including choking and dragging her by her hair and clothes.

The suit says Linda Bollea conducted a series of promotional interviews with the Today show, Fox News and a radio show this summer. In one, Bollea claimed she was fearful of ending up "a statistic" like Nicole Simpson, whose estranged husband, former professional football player O.J. Simpson, was accused and acquitted of killing her.

However, Linda Bollea said the potential impact on her family's livelihood deterred her from contacting police about the abuse. Terry Bollea, she said, "to this day" has not been remorseful.

In yet another interview, she claimed he had a sexual relationship with another male wrestler.

The allegations, the suit states, are absolutely false, and they "harmed the reputation of Mr. Bollea, exposed him to distrust, hatred, contempt and ridicule" and hurt his occupation and business.

Bollea is demanding a jury trial and a halt to his ex-wife's comments, which have been broadcast and published internationally.

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