Hulk Hogan at Impact! TV taping (Credit: Simon Q, via Wikimedia Commons).
The folks at The National Enquirer and its sister website RadarOnline.com have let the other shoe drop when it comes to Hulk Hogan: in addition to racist statements made on a sex tape from eight years ago, the former pro wrestler also made homophobic comments.
Hogan, whose legal name is Terry Bollea, had an extramarital affair with Heather Clem — the ex-wife of his former friend, DJ Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem — which they filmed on tape. In the video, Hogan recounts returning to his childhood home as part of a stunt for his former Hogan Knows Best reality TV show.
“VH1 wanted me to do a big thing and go back to the house I grew up in,” he tells Clem on the tape. “So we knock on the door, and a big fag lives there now!”
Hogan also said, “This half-gay was enamored with Linda,” referring to his now ex-wife, with whom he was having marital difficulties. In that episode, the owner of Hogan’s childhood home not only welcomed the wrestler, but returned his childhood toy truck, which was found in the garden.
Hogan had already previously come under intense criticism for a section of the tape in which he made comments criticizing his daughter, Brooke, and accusing her of sleeping with a black man. Hogan did not know he was being filmed at the time.
Throughout the video, Hogan uses racial epithets and insults, including the “n-word.” After the content of some of Hogan’s statements came to light, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) issued a statement saying that it had severed ties with the wrestler. According to the New York Daily News, WWE also yanked Hogan-related merchandise from its website, and, scrubbed the wrestler from its roster of alumni and hall of famers.
Hogan’s lawyer insists that Hogan was the one who had initiated the break from WWE. But Hogan also issued a statement apologizing for his remarks, and saying they are out of character for him. According to The Mirror, Hogan has also revealed in several past media appearances that he was experiencing a personal crisis at the time. He also responded to a fan on Twitter that he “hit rock bottom” eight years ago and “made a mistake for that I am eternally sorry.”
“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,” Hogan said in the statement. “I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
Hogan’s statements using homophobic slurs come as a surprise, as he has previously defended homosexuality after Linda accused him of having an affair with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake in 2012. In an interview on The Wendy Williams Show, which has been posted online for posterity at the celebrity gossip blog PerezHilton.com, Hogan responded to Linda’s comments, saying: “It’s tough because a lot of my friends in normal life, a lot of my friends in the entertainment business, and a lot of my friends in the wrestling business are gay. It has nothing to do with the quality of person or how nice they are and I’ve seen how they’ve been discriminated against.”
Hogan also said he didn’t understand why his ex-wife would say something spiteful and hurtful, adding, “if it was true and I was gay, I’d embrace it, and I’d tell you guys about it and I’d celebrate it.”
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The folks at The National Enquirer and its sister website RadarOnline.com have let the other shoe drop when it comes to Hulk Hogan: in addition to racist statements made on a sex tape from eight years ago, the former pro wrestler also made homophobic comments.
Hogan, whose legal name is Terry Bollea, had an extramarital affair with Heather Clem — the ex-wife of his former friend, DJ Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem — which they filmed on tape. In the video, Hogan recounts returning to his childhood home as part of a stunt for his former Hogan Knows Best reality TV show.
“VH1 wanted me to do a big thing and go back to the house I grew up in,” he tells Clem on the tape. “So we knock on the door, and a big fag lives there now!”
Hogan also said, “This half-gay was enamored with Linda,” referring to his now ex-wife, with whom he was having marital difficulties. In that episode, the owner of Hogan’s childhood home not only welcomed the wrestler, but returned his childhood toy truck, which was found in the garden.
Hogan had already previously come under intense criticism for a section of the tape in which he made comments criticizing his daughter, Brooke, and accusing her of sleeping with a black man. Hogan did not know he was being filmed at the time.
Throughout the video, Hogan uses racial epithets and insults, including the “n-word.” After the content of some of Hogan’s statements came to light, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) issued a statement saying that it had severed ties with the wrestler. According to the New York Daily News, WWE also yanked Hogan-related merchandise from its website, and, scrubbed the wrestler from its roster of alumni and hall of famers.
Hogan’s lawyer insists that Hogan was the one who had initiated the break from WWE. But Hogan also issued a statement apologizing for his remarks, and saying they are out of character for him. According to The Mirror, Hogan has also revealed in several past media appearances that he was experiencing a personal crisis at the time. He also responded to a fan on Twitter that he “hit rock bottom” eight years ago and “made a mistake for that I am eternally sorry.”
“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,” Hogan said in the statement. “I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
Hogan’s statements using homophobic slurs come as a surprise, as he has previously defended homosexuality after Linda accused him of having an affair with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake in 2012. In an interview on The Wendy Williams Show, which has been posted online for posterity at the celebrity gossip blog PerezHilton.com, Hogan responded to Linda’s comments, saying: “It’s tough because a lot of my friends in normal life, a lot of my friends in the entertainment business, and a lot of my friends in the wrestling business are gay. It has nothing to do with the quality of person or how nice they are and I’ve seen how they’ve been discriminated against.”
Hogan also said he didn’t understand why his ex-wife would say something spiteful and hurtful, adding, “if it was true and I was gay, I’d embrace it, and I’d tell you guys about it and I’d celebrate it.”
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