Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon does not think Hulk Hogan was a racist.
Last year, in January 2024, several concerning allegations emerged against Vince McMahon about his involvement in the Janel Grant sexual assault lawsuit, following which he moved away from everything WWE.
Now, over a year away from the promotion, McMahon was also edited out of Hulk Hogan’s tribute video by WWE. Last month, on July 24th, Hulk Hogan passed away from a cardiac arrest.
Now, a few weeks later, TMZ has released a documentary “The Real Hulk Hogan” featuring some of the most influential people in the industry paying their tribute to The Hulkster.
Speaking about the documentary, McMahon shared his honest thoughts about the racism allegations against Hogan. Refusing to believe the Hall of Famer was a racist, 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. 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.”
The racism allegations began after a controversial s*x tape of Hogan leaked in July 2015, where he was captured saying offensive words. The tape was recorded back in 2007. Again, in 2008, Hogan used racist language while speaking to his son Nick Hogan, who was in prison then.
Discussing The Hulkster’s language, McMahon further said,
“It was unforgivable and I was agasp, ‘What happened?’ When those things occurred, that’s not like him. ‘What in God’s name is going on?’”
“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,”
As soon as the tape leaked and Hogan’s racist language was caught on tape, WWE cut all its ties with Hogan and even proceeded to remove him from the Hall of Fame.
However, a few years later, following the late great star’s public apology, WWE reinstated him into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
While a controversial pro-wrestling star, Hogan is also celebrated as one of the pillar figures of pro-wrestling, who helped establish WWE as a mainstream pro-wrestling platform.
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One of a kind. I knew what America wanted. Someone with charisma, someone who is larger than life and there is no-one that fit that belt, anymore than Terry Bollea.”
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