ALL ELITE WRESTLING star MJF has hit the headlines after sticking up a finger at a seven-year-old boy during a signing session.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman, 23, then lived up to his reputation even further after he faced a bitter backlash by declaring: “F*** them kids.”
The shocking incident occurred in Chicago at a meet-and-greet event last weekend around the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
Tom Gilmartin was the dad who brought his son to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.
And when his kid stepped up to meet the notoriously rude and unfriendly New York native, he received the middle finger.
Speaking to TMZ, Gilmartin said: “I tried to laugh it off knowing he’s just in character, but it really upset him.
“I know that’s his gimmick but he’s only seven and doesn’t understand.”
Footage of the incident soon went viral on social media, with a large number of fans supporting MJF, and it also caught the attention of the company’s top brass.
AEW vice president Cody Rhodes, who suffered defeat to MJF at Revolution, issued a warning to fans who planned on meeting the ill-mannered performer in future.
He tweeted: “This was a paid meet/greet where you specifically chose the individual.
“We would never send MJF on a free publicity activation for this very reason, he’s immature and doesn’t represent the brand.”
Rhodes did invite the youngster and his family to a future event and offered to give them VIP treatment.
However, MJF showed no signs of being remorseful.
He told TMZ: “F**k them kids.
The grappler then then responded to the story on Twitter with “Cry about it.”
A number of fans also backed up Rhodes’ warning after MJF refused to break character.
One wrote: “If you meet MJF or take your kid to meet MJF, you know what you’re getting into. People shouldn’t try and make any of the EVP’s feel bad about it when he acts exactly how you know he’s going to act.”
Another tweeted: “People are mad about MJF actually doing heel shit to kids and this is why we can’t have nice things in wrestling.”
While a fellow fan commented: “MJF is total class. The kids dad should have known what he was like. I love MJF.”
But not everybody was on his side.
One AEW supporter said: “I know he's doing the whole ‘kayfabe’ thing but does he really have to be that much of an ass and give a kid the finger during a photo? It’s a bit overkill.”
As another said: “Just because he took his kid to the signing doesn’t make him a mark and if you’re paying to meet and sign stuff I wouldn’t want to be treated like that kayfabe is dead mjf is just being a d***.”
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