Hulk Hogan Speaks Out Following News of Past Racial Slurs
"It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language," he said.
— -- Hulk Hogan is speaking out after the WWE cut ties with the Hall of Fame wrestler following multiple reports that he allegedly used racial slurs in the past.
Shortly after audio surfaced from a 2012 radio interview where Hulk Hogan uses the n-word and reports that he also used similar language in a leaked sex tape from almost a decade ago, he addressed the situation today.
"Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation," he said in a statement to ABC News. "It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it."
He continued, "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. It is not who I am. I continue to work every day to improve as a person, and this matter is an important learning experience for me in that regard. As a result I am resigning from my contractual relationship with the WWE.”
Hogan's response came after the WWE also released a statement, saying: "WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (a.k.a. Hulk Hogan)," the network and organization told ABC News. "WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide."
Along with the alleged comments, Hogan used other slurs on the DJ Whoo Kid radio show when asked by the DJ about his past use of the word "brother" for years while in the WWF, now known as WWE.
The conversation turned to other wrestlers like Booker T using the n-word at Hogan in the past on live TV. Hogan then repeated what he, and even rap artists like The Game and Lil Wayne would say to him, when he lived in Miami.
Hogan, 61, uses the n-word over and over on the surfaced audio. He admitted than he started saying it back to them, confused as to why he would get flack for saying it back if they were calling him that.
"I get heat when I say it, and they say, ‘Hogan, you can’t say that,’ so I say, ‘Why can they say it to me then?’” he says in the audio.
DJ Whoo Kid tweeted about the situation, writing "nothing racist about that @HulkHogan 2012 interview I did. He was just explaining the usage of the Nword amongst his rapper friends and WWF ... to me @HulkHogan is the coolest and will always be the reason why I watched professional wrestling #legend."
A look on the WWE website shows that there is no Hulk Hogan merchandise for sale and he's not listed on the Hall of Fame roster.