In one of the biggest pop culture news to hit in recent years, it is reported that the WWE association is cutting off all ties with former Hall of Fame wrestling legend Terry “Hulk Hogan” Gene Bollea. I grew up a huge Hulkamania fan so this is quite the disturbing circumstance that I had to dig more into the story. This is what PopcultHQ has been able to dig up.
Multiple outlets are reporting that late Thursday night Hulk Hogan (61) could no longer be found on WWE.com, even in the Hall of Fame section. Along with all Hulk merchandise, he was also no longer listed in WWE’s online store.
Internet rumors are speculating that a past interview audio with the former HOF wrestler recanting a story while using the N* word was the cause. It was not. The real issue came up with reports from National Enquirer (who I loath to use as a source, but has been confirmed) of a racially insensitive rant over his daughter Brooke Hogan at the tail-end of his 2012 sex tape. That sort of speculation of action alone can cause much trouble with entertainers as was also seen with cooking legend Paula Dean. But It would seem that speculation alone is just not enough to drop such a legend from the WWE ranks.
Past audio interview thought to cause the dropping of Hulk Hogan is not the root cause.
http://youtu.be/f20Z-iGVoP0
Dylan Howard and Lachlan Cartwright of The National Enquirer Reported Hogan went on a racially insensitive tirade to then-lover Heather Clem regarding his daughter Brooke (WARNING: Comments contain NSFW language many my find offensive):
“She is making some real bad decisions now,” Hulk said, sources continued. “My daughter Brooke jumped sides on me. I spent $2-3 million on her music career, I’ve done everything like a jack*** for her.”
“The one option Brooke had, Brooke’s career besides me, is [to] sell beach records.”
At that point on the tape, the former “Hogan Knows Best” star bemoaned how a “black billionaire guy” had offered to fund her music career.
Hogan continued his tirade, (per Howard and Cartwright:)
“I don’t know if Brooke was f*cking the black guy’s son,”
According to sources, Hogan said:
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f*ck some n*gger, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n*gger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player!
“I mean, I don’t have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f*cking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*t, and whatever.”
“I guess we’re all a little racist.
[…]
Fucking n*gger.”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as WWE is concerned. As reported by ESPN Darren Rovell;
But it also seems that there is more to the story then just that audio that has forced Linda and Vince McMahon to do the unthinkable. Rumors are rampant that there is more racial audio from the WWE star vs. another WWE star The Rock. Here are the Twitter posts by Marc Lamont Hill, who is following the story closely. He is also a pop culture follower and reporter that has proven credentials in the field.
Before all the news started dribbling out, Hulk Hogan tried to prepare himself for the major fallout to come with this tweet.
Hogan provided an apology in an exclusive with People.com:
“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.”
If any more official news is released PopcultHQ will be all over it. We do not like to do rumor and speculation articles but this one has been corroborated with other sources to get the most detailed current information to our readers.
Hulk Hogan began his career in wrestling in 1977 and in 1979 joined the little known WWE (then known as WWF) company owned by Vince McMahon. Hogan has gone on to win the WWE Championship multiple times in some very legendary battles. Hogan then began his movie career and also started a reality series in the late 2000’s with his former wife and their kids. In 2012 a sex tape was going to be released till Hogan’s lawyers put a stop to that.
