While Hulk Hogan is known as one of the wrestling world’s most famous stars, his legacy is not all that perfect.
The WWE Hall of Famer died in July after suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 71. His death has led to more than a few skeletons in the closet being revealed. Now Vince McMahon speaks out about the wrestler’s 2015 racism controversy and his reinstatement into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Hogan faced a major scandal after a leaked audio from a 2007 sex tape revealed him making multiple racist remarks, including using the N-word while talking about his daughter’s dating life.
A year later, he was also caught using racist language in a conversation with his son Nick. The fallout was swift, with the WWE terminating his contract and removing him from the Hall of Fame.
Hogan made a public apology for his actions and was reinstated into the Hall of Fame three years later.
TMZ interviewed McMahon for their The Real Hulk Hogan documentary, which aired Tuesday, Aug.12, on FOX, explaining and defending his decision to reinstate the wrestler.
“As soon as it happened, obviously, the company didn’t have anything to do with him anymore. We took him out of the Hall of Fame. You just don’t do those things,” McMahon said.
“I knew he wasn’t racist. I’ve been with him for so many years. He wasn’t racist. He said some racist things. He should pay for that, and he did,” he added.
“But in the end, I think that everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea, and they felt: Wait a minute. ‘This guy, he doesn’t act like a racist, he’s not a racist. We all make mistakes.’ That was a big one, but he wasn’t a racist,” explained McMahon.
At the time, Mark Henry was “hurt” by what Hogan said in the leaked audio, showing his disdain towards a wrestler he had grown up watching.
He even suggested to Hogan that he should go on an apology tour, but Hogan claimed he was advised not to about the situation any further. Hogan called his actions “offensive” and “unacceptable” in his apology.
