Remember when it seemed like the only things Hulk Hogan was interested in were tearaway shirts and making sure kids took their vitamins? Well, the Hulkster is the latest in a line of celebrities who has come under fire for making blatantly racist comments, as alleged audio transcriptions from his sex tape have been leaked. The result? Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, has been kicked to the curb by his longtime employers at the WWE. Hulkamania has now ceased running wild on you.
Hogan has been a monolith in the professional wrestling game for well over 30 years, and even though his sex tape has been sealed in a Florida court, its contents could very well ruin everything the entertainer has built up. At one point in the tape, according to National Enquirer and RadarOnline, Hogan complains to Heather Clem that his daughter Brooke Hogan has made terrible decisions with her music career, and that a “black billionaire guy” offered to step in and fund her work. Things went way downhill as Hogan said the following not-safe-for-work-or-anywhere-else spiel.
I don’t know if Brooke was fucking the black guy’s son. I mean, I don’t have double standards. I mean, I am racist, to a point. Fucking niggers. But then when it comes to nice people and shit, and whatever…I mean, if she was going to fuck some nigger, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall nigger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we’re all a little racist. Fucking nigger.
There’s no backing down from preposterously hateful language and viewpoints like that, especially when he refers to himself as racist twice in the same timespan. Back in 2012, Hogan was on a radio interview with DJ Whoo Kid and he talked about how living in Miami and kicking it with rappers like Lil Wayne and Birdman got him into the habit of using “nigga” slangily in conversations, but that sex tape has made it clear it wasn’t just slang for him.
And so the WWE has not only terminated their contract with Hogan for his damning words, but it’s also completely removed him from many areas of its website. In a situation similar to former wrestler Chris Benoit’s murder-suicide back in 2007, the WWE apparently wants to make it look like they’ve never had anything to do with Hogan, even removing him from their Hall of Fame listing. It doesn’t seem like this will end amicably over a night of Royal Rumble on Super Nintendo.
For what it’s worth, Hogan released an apologetic statement to People (in complete opposition to his unapologetic attitude earlier in his life).
Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it. This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.
Eight years? Does he know what he’s apologizing for? Now just try to get his entrance song “Real American” out of your heads for the rest of the day.
