Gawker.com is dead: Controversial news site will end operations next week

One of the web's most controversial news sites is officially coming to an end.

Gawker.com announced on Thursday that it will officially end its operations next week.

"After nearly fourteen years of operation, Gawker.com will be shutting down next week," wrote Gawker.com's J.K. Trotter. "The decision to close Gawker comes days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, and four months after the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed his clandestine legal campaign against the company."

Outgoing Gawker CEO Nick Denton informed staff members that the site would be shutting down during a staff meeting on Thursday.

Gawker.com has become notorious over the years for pushing the boundaries of tasteful journalism. It drew a torrent of criticism last year for outing a gay man who wasn't even a public figure, and it also got nailed with a $140 million judgment after it published a sex tape of wrestler Hulk Hogan having sex with a friend's wife.

Gawker-owned websites Jezebel and Deadspin will remain operational after Gawker.com shuts down, however.