WWE star Hulk Hogan has addressed the need for him to make an apology for his n-word laden rant that surfaced a couple of years ago. However, he thinks it needs to be addressed to all in the WWE, not just Black stars.
“I just heard [Mark Henry] made a comment on TMZ about it and that I should apologize,” Hogan says Saturday, March 31 when a TMZ paparazzo asked at the 33-second mark about the Hall of Famer saying Black wrestlers aren’t ready for Hogan’s return. “I totally agree, but not to the Black wrestlers, to all the wrestlers. Yeah, what I said was way out of line, I’m forever sorry for that, but I never heard Mark Henry say that. He’s my boy, man.”
Hogan’s apparent bigotry was exposed in 2015 a year before 10-year-old audio leaked of Hogan freely calling his daughter Brooke Hogan’s then-boyfriend a “n—–” and saying he’s “racist to a point.”
“I don’t give a f— if she … an 8-foot tall basketball player,” he said. “If we’re gonna f— with n—–s, let’s get a rich one!”
While speaking on SiriusXM’s “Busted Open,” Henry addressed the tape and explained Black WWE stars still aren’t necessarily feeling the love for Hogan.
“It’s kind of a deal where you have to accept it. He’s a public figure,” Henry said via Wrestling Inc. “It doesn’t mean that everything he’s done is forgiven, you just gotta pick the good from the bad, see how you can help the situation. I sit on the chair of the delegation and they’re not ready. I’ve had many talks, I mean with dozens of guys. The consensus is there’s a lot of work to be done to heal that wound and fix that wall.”
Still, Hogan maintained to TMZ on Saturday that “I’m friends with all the guys, come on.”
Hogan apologized for his remarks in 2015, but Henry has said he wants an apology to all current Black WWE stars before Hogan comes back to the organization.