Shamed wrestler Hulk Hogan, who was recently reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame, has shared the official apology he gave to the sport’s current performers.
The 65-year-old star was caught up in a controversial axing from the company back in 2015, following the leak of recordings of him using the N-word in reference to his daughter’s one-time boyfriend.
Speaking to Bill Apter on wrestling podcast ‘The Apter Chat’, Hogan read out the apology he gave to WWE’s current stars.
“Thank you guys for the time,” he said (via The Wrap). “The first thing I want to do is tell you guys, 12 years ago I said something. About three years ago it just came to light. And I want to apologise for everything I said.
“I could give you the ‘woe is me’ story, I could tell you all the things, all the reasons why I was in this space I was in — a very dark, dark space. But everybody’s got a ‘woe is me’ story, everybody’s got an excuse.
“But the truth is, I said these things 12 years ago and I didn’t even know they were said until three years ago because that’s when they came out. I can’t remember what I said last weekend let alone 12 years ago. Maybe you guys can but I can’t. And when I said it it was in a fit of anger. But I did say it, I’m accountable, that’s not who I am. That’s not how I feel, that’s not how I believe.”
Hulk then continued: “But the one thing I will tell you is when I said it I was very, very mad. Very, very mad at a situation. But I did say it. It was inappropriate, it was out of context, it was hurtful, it was unacceptable and I did it. I apologise, if you guys could ever forgive me I would be forever grateful.”
Hogan’s lengthy reflection then turned into an advisory statement, adding: “Now, I want to let you guys know that this is the biggest spotlight in the world. The WWE’s the biggest spotlight in the world. And if you’re a little, teeny star, don’t even slip on a banana peel when you’re a little star here, because you’re in the spotlight. Try not to make any mistakes like I made.
“But when you’re a big star here and you make a mistake, the whole world is gonna know. You’ll be on the front page of every newspaper, of every magazine — just like it happened to me. I made a mistake and this machine was so big — the WWE’s made me such a big star — that everybody knows what’s going on. So please be careful because people have cell phones and cameras — so just be careful,” he concluded.
King T’Kofi of The New Day (WWE’s most prominent black tag-team) shared a response to Hogan’s words on Twitter.
The tweet claimed the group felt “indifferent” to Hogan’s apology, noting that they are “not happy, or sad, angry or resentful”.
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