Hulk Hogan Makes F*cked Up Admission About Using The N-Word

Fox News/21st Century Fox

When Hulk Hogan’s sex tapes were leaked by Gawker, there was much more to the footage than just sex.

The videos, which date back to 2007, show him making an offensive rant about his daughter having a relationship with a black man, complete with multiple uses of the N-word. He hadn’t realised he was being filmed and had apparently been going through some personal difficulties with his family life.

These shocking racial slurs led to the once beloved Hulk’s public disgrace and subsequent dismissal from WWE. Hulk filed a lawsuit against Gawker, but the damage to his reputation was just too disastrous to come back from.

For many people, the fall of this American icon hit them on a very personal level. He had been a hero to many young people and had shown likeability through his reality TV career, making the racist language even more shocking.

Hulk has now been interviewed for Fox News documentary series Objectified, where he spoke frankly about the impact the tapes have had on his life.

You can watch Hulk discuss how he has worked to change his language below:
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During the interview, Hulk – real name is Terry Gene Bollea – explained how he told WWE everything before the news broke, hoping they would look more kindly on him:

When I heard this was going to happen, I called them on a Thursday or a Friday, As I hung up the phone that night, they fired me in the morning.

It really caught me off guard, I didn’t expect it because the WWE knows who I am.

I’m not that person, that’s not who I am and that’s not what I do

The former professional wrestler also spoke about how he has tried to clean up his act, blaming his rough upbringing in South Tampa for his casual use of racial slurs:

I tried to clean up my whole life. I made a whole switch, almost a shift from being negative… I moved forward so I’m in check with myself.

As far as the black community and using that word, it’s not part of who I am now. It’s not part of my language because I understand how powerful words are.

You know, growing up in South Tampa where we came from, it was a situation where when you played baseball and basketball and ran around in South Tampa, it was just common knowledge 45 – 50 years ago [people used that word], but it’s not that way anymore.

The disgraced sports star also discussed the unlikely possibility of his return to the WWE. He appears to show no bitterness and understands why the organisation decided to let him go:

I’m not sure. … I think they did what was best for business,
They were worried about losing sponsors and network support.

Of course, we will never know if Terry would have stopped using the n-word in his vocabulary if he hadn’t been so publicly caught out. Actions speak louder than apologies after all and time will tell if Hulk really has changed his ways.

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.