UPDATED: WWE has cut ties with wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, Variety has confirmed.
“WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan),” the organization said in a statement on Friday. “WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.”
Although the reason for Hogan’s termination wasn’t revealed, the news comes after a 2012 SiriusXM radio interview surfaced in which the wrestler used the n-word.
Hogan apologized for his actions in a statement released to People on Friday.
“Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation,” he said. “It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it. This is not who I am. 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.”
Hogan is also no longer named on a list of judges for WWE’s reality show, “Tough Enough,” although he’s on the roster for WWE’s August tour of Australia.
As of Friday morning, Hogan’s page on the WWE website has been stripped of its content. All mention of his name has also been removed from the general WWE website and his merchandise has been pulled from the WWE online store.
https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/624468148352188416/
Although Hogan’s name surfaces in the search archives, the results, including his biography page, read “You are not authorized to access this page,” once clicked.
“In the storm I release control, God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be,one love,” Hogan wrote in a cryptic tweet late Thursday.
In the storm I release control,God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be,one love. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) July 24, 2015
Hogan used the racial epithet several times three years ago during a radio interview with DJ Whoo Kid while discussing his use of the n-word while talking to African-American wrestlers and celebrities.
“Well, Booker T used to do that to me, and every time I pull up YouTube, there’s that famous thing with Booker T and his brother is there and they’re all talking trash, and Booker T says, ‘I’m coming for ya Hogan, you ni—-’ and not ‘ni—,’ he goes ‘ni—-,’” Hogan said.
The Hall of Fame wrestler also asked why African-Americans are allowed to use the term if he can’t.
This is the latest trouble in what’s been a difficult year for Hogan, who sued Gawker earlier this month for $100 million after they published a sex tape showing him and a friend’s then-wife in bed.
