Vince McMahon defended long-time friend Hulk Hogan on the TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan special.
Hogan’s legacy has been shadowed by racism claims after he used a racial slur multiple times in a 2007 leaked sex tape in which he also said: “I guess we’re all a little racist.” He also can be heard using racist language in a recording of a conversation he has with his son.
“I knew he wasn’t racist. I’ve been with him for so many years. He wasn’t a racist. He said some racist things. He should pay for that, and he did. In the end, I think everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea, and they felt, ‘Wait a minute, this guy 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,” said McMahon on the tribute show.
McMahon, who is facing reckless driving charges related to an auto accident on the day Hogan died and is accused of sexual assault, trafficking and coercion in a high-profile civil lawsuit filed in former WWE employee Janel Grant, also gave his reaction at the time he heard the comments that landed Hogan in hot water.
“It was unforgivable and I was aghast, ‘What happened?’” When those things occurred, that’s not like him. ‘What in God’s name is going on?’” he said.
McMahon detailed the WWE’s response to Hogan’s behaviour.
“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,” he said.
McMahon has had a controversial past when it comes to his depiction of racial identities and the terminology he employed in the past.
Currently, in the lawsuit filed by Grant, it is stated that “McMahon also allegedly named his sex toys after male WWE wrestlers: [F]or example, a black ‘dildo’ would be named after an African American wrestler and a white ‘dildo’ would be named after a Caucasian wrestler.”
