It’s not that I “missed” this story on Friday, it’s just that I had a weird mix of reactions to it. The mix involved the thoughts of “I’m not surprised” to “Didn’t we know this already? This is part of a multi-year gossip thing, right?” to “I don’t even care.” Well, it was new and it was utterly unsurprising. Late last week, the National Enquirer broke the story (I know!) that Hulk Hogan had casually and offensively used the n-word repeatedly ON TAPE in reference to his daughter’s dating life. Hulk Hogan used the n-word in the midst of his sex tape with Heather Clem (who was then the wife of his friend, Bubba The Love Sponge). This was in 2012…? The tape was leaked in 2012 but it had been made years before. This is what Hulk Hogan said on tape (allegedly, or not so much):
In a startling exchange, the 61-year-old told Clem – who he sued for invasion of privacy after their XXX tape was leaked to a website – about his frustrations with blonde bombshell Brooke, 27.
“She is making some real bad decisions now,” Hulk said, sources tell us. “My daughter Brooke jumped sides on me. I spent $2-3 million on her music career, I’ve done everything like a jackass for her.” The bitter bodybuilder continued, “The one option Brooke had, Brooke’s career besides me, is [to] sell beach records.”
At that point on the tape, the former “Hogan Knows Best” star bemoaned how a “black billionaire guy” had offered to fund her music career. He also attempts to use bizarre, twisted logic in an attempt to justify his bigotry at the man.
“I don’t know if Brooke was f–king the black guy’s son,” Hulk raved, the sources add. “I mean, I don’t have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f–king n–gers. But then when it comes to nice people and s–t, and whatever.”
Then, in a tirade to rival the racism embarrassments suffered by Mel Gibson and “Dog The Bounty Hunter,” Hulk unloaded even more hatred!
According to sources, he said: “I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f-ck some n–ger, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n–ger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we’re all a little racist. F–king n–ger.”
Surprisingly, the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) believed the Enquirer’s reporting completely and within a few hours, they announced this: “WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.” Hulk’s people told TMZ that Hulk resigned from the WWE late Thursday though, and his lawyer told People Magazine: “He decided to resign from WWE because he didn’t want to put them or his family through this.”
There’s some reporting that Hulk Hogan knew this was coming out and so did the WWE, mostly because the tape is all part of some years-long, very much “ongoing” legal matters. WWE was already at work, scrubbing any and all mention of Hulk Hogan from their website, their Hall of Fame, and all Hulk Hogan merchandise has been pulled off the WWE’s shelves.
Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan is trying to do some cursory damage control. He released this statement to People Magazine:
“Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. 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.I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
The “eight years ago” thing threw me for a loop because all of the reporting on this says that the tape was made in 2012. Update: Some of you fact-checked and the tape was made years ago and only leaked in 2012. But…as the Daily Beast pointed out, Hulk Hogan was still using the n-word in casual conversation IN RADIO INTERVIEWS that same year, 2012.
So, yeah… does this really surprise anyone at all? I’m pretty sure most sentient people just assumed Hulk Hogan was the kind of person to casually drop n-bombs in conversation all the time. The only really surprising thing is that the WWE acted so swiftly and they dropped the hammer so thoroughly.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
TLC could learn something from the WWE, apparently.
^This x10
Agreed.
Couldn’t agree more!
I’m glad WWE got on this right away
The WWE most likely knew about this beforehand so they were ready to act quickly. I applaud the company for decisive action but part of me thinks there is more to this story. Hulk Hogan is not a current money maker, to my understanding, in WWE. He went to Impact Wrestling which rivals WWE. Is there bad blood between the Hogans and WWE?
He was apparently on the WWE reality show “Tough Enough” (which I remember from its MTV days) so he was most definitely still a part of the WWE stable. But the WWE at least tries to keep a family friendly facade so with all the nastiness about Hulk for years I wonder if they’re just happy to get rid of him. I agree that they likely knew ahead of time and had the details all worked out for his exit.
Yeah. There is something more here. I wonder if Gawker released this tape. Hulk Hogan has been suing Gawker over a sex tape they released without his permission. Hulk refuses to settle and is apparently winning the case so far. I believe this tape from 8 years ago was the audio from the sex tape Gawker obtained. It all sounds fishy to me.
I don’t think most people care about Hulk one way or another now so it is strange this suddenly came out.
They’ve always been very swift to react and keep wrestling “family friendly”. When Chyna came out with her tape they severed ties in a flash.
They do go over everything with a fine tooth comb to gets all their ducks in a row, but that shouldn’t be confused with draggng their feet. Not like TLC did.
Bridget
I Looved Tough Enough! Still have a crush on the Miz. What happened to the girl though? She was there and then gone.
This post reminds me of times before the Kardashians became a thing how publicly messy the Hogan family was.
The only thing I found surprising was that his daughter’s ‘music career’ cost him 2-3 million…wtf?
exactly how does a non-existent ‘career’ cost so much?
It’s pretty easy to rack up those kinds of costs – studio time, producers, songwriters, photo shoots for album/single covers, a video shoot is easily several hundred thousand dollars. Hulk was bankrolling Brooke’s music career instead of a record company (though when a record company does they get that money back from the album’s proceeds before the artist makes money).
He looks like the Great Pumpkin on steroids.
LOL best comment.
I thought I recalled him saying racist things in the past. Or maybe it was the bounty hunter guy, they look almost identical to me.
I do remember reading about Dog the Bounty Hunter saying some racist things about the partner of one of his sons. Dog and Hulk do look alike and unfortunately act the same
I sort of remember this. I used to watch the Dog, don’t judge me…LOL . As I recall the story Dog said he felt uncomfortable with his son dating a Black woman because they use the N word a lot when talking. He tried to explain that he didn’t use the word in a racist manner but in the same way a Black person would use it . Meaning that he would call any race the N word. For example, let’s just say he’s talking about Charlie Sheen and he says that N is a drug addict. He’s trying to use the word as slang the way Blacks use it, not as an insult. His problem is he’s not Black so no matter how he slice it, it’s going to be racist. I know Black men who refer to White people as N. They are using it as slang but Dog, nope, you can’t do that Big homie.
Just to put more of my personal life out there. I used to do a little work with the WWE when they were still called the WWF. I hung around a lot of the wrestlers and they said the N word but they were using it as slang. Take the Undertaker talking to Kane and he would say N, you crazy. I’m Black and for some reason I didn’t feel offended because I knew him personally for a couple of years and to me it was just White Wrestlers trying to sound down. Even the Rock used that word as slang . I told them they listen to too much rap music. Yep, even the Undertaker like Hip Hop.
Some of those comments regarding DogBH were found to be fabricated. And his usage appears to be out of a place of ignorance rather than hate. Much like John Stewart/Wyatt Cenac in yesterdays article.
His eldest son who was fighting an “ice” addiction was bitter was did receive money for a damaging interview to attack his father.
Not only is he a racist but he can’t add or subtract either. 2012 was 8 years ago?
I totally believe he’s a racist because it came straight from the horses mouth. He can keep his half ass apology.
The sex tape wasn’t filmed in 2012, it was leaked to Gawker in 2012.It was actually filmed years earlier.
Don’t know where but I read it’s from 2007 as well. She hasn’t released any albums since 2009, I;m not sure if it;d make sense for him to talk about her music career in 2012.
I read the detailled description of his sex tape on Gawker yesterday and I still haven’t forgiven myself. :-/
I watched it…it was on Gawker, maybe still is? Well parts of it anyway cause it was boring
He’s so gross. His relationship with his daughter just sends out all sorts of red flags as it is.
Having said that, I do think the details of the video transcript were leaked by someone sympathetic (or outright connected) to Gawker. In light of “the post,” most everyone was saying that it gave Hogan’s lawsuit a huge boost, which certainly played into Nick Denton’s decision-making in taking that post down. There’s no way this transcript coincidentally made its way to the media right after that whole brou-ha-ha.
I don’t understand the second paragraph, I’m not up to speed. Is Hogan suing Gawker? How do the racist rants give his lawsuit a boost? Gawker has been in some serious poo lately, but I haven’t been following all that closely. I only occasionally go there, it doesn’t appeal all that much.
The racist rant is on the sex tape.Hulk was having sex with a married woman unbeknownst to them her husband filmed their encounter.After they finished having sex they started talking about Brooke(pillow talk) and her black boyfriend.He sued Gawker for posting an unauthorized sex tape.Neither of them knew they were being filmed.I guess he can say obviously he didn’t know he was being filmed or he would not have used those racial slurs.
Yes, Gawker is being sued by Hogan for $100 million after Gawker published excerpts from the sex video. The suit, for invasion of privacy, has survived multiple attempts by Gawker to have it dismissed, and though it was recently delayed on a technicality related to filing guidelines (specifically a requirement for a fifty day window between a final pleading and the commencement of the trial), is moving forward and has the potential to bankrupt the company.
A week and a half ago, Gawker published a hit piece centered on a media executive in New York City (I won’t name him) and his alleged attempt to procure the services of a male prostitute while traveling. The prostitute had discovered the john’s identity, and had attempted to blackmail him in exchange for a bizarre political favor (the media figure is related to someone who was formerly in a position of power in D.C.). Obviously, the john realized the prostitute was crazy and withdrew from the transaction. The prostitute went to Gawker and they basically did his dirty work, by posting about the (aborted) interaction and suggesting – with no basis in fact – that the married executive was “secretly” gay. Never mind that their source had an easily findable documented history of crazy, including a Facebook account filled with anti-gay, anti-Obama conspiracy theories – they went with an attempted hatchet job against a non-public figure on behalf of a certifiable insane person.
Oh, and the executive works for a company that owns a huge stake in Reddit, Gawker’s nemesis. No conflict of interest there! /s
Anyways, long story short (maybe too late!), after an immediate backlash by commenters and other media figures, Gawker’s owner Nick Denton wisely removed the post. Tommy Craggs (Executive Editor) and Max Read (Editor in Chief) had a hissy fit and resigned in protest. Read actually defended the post on Twitter, digging in by saying it was Gawker’s business to out “married c-level executives.” Never mind that this guy was not a public figure, Gawker knows nothing of his relationship with his wife – they well could have an open relationship or understanding that is none of anyone’s business – and there was no justifiable merit to reporting the story.
Ever since then, their colleagues left behind have been throwing public temper tantrums about the situation and Denton has been trying to right the ship, announcing a kindler, gentler Gawker that will unveil tomorrow.
TL;dr. The actions of Craggs, Read and the writer of the post Jordan Sargent, gave Hogan’s lawsuit a huge boost by moving forward with that post and continuing to defend it in the aftermath.
My friend Google helped out on this one. The issue is that when Gawker took that article down, it implied that it was indeed intrusive and invaded someone’s privacy – so if that line does exist, Hogan’s side is arguing that Gawker crossed it with posting parts of that tape.
@Bridget, yeah I tried to provide a summation and it’s stuck in limbo! Thank you.
Update: Oh wait, there it is. Thank you CB!
THANKS Matador!
Apparently Hogan is the first celebrity to take a sex tape lawsuit to trial. He legitimately didn’t want this coming out (I don’t blame him, it’s gross… his friend basically ‘lent’ Hogan his wife and then taped it) and Gawker is saying that because Hogan has talked about his sex life in the past and is a public figure that it was newsworthy of them to publish what they did. I actually agree that Gawker crossed a line in publishing what they did.
It bugged me that the Gawker writers dug their heels in about that article being deleted. It shouldn’t have been published in the first place.
@Bridget, I agree. They have no moral ground to grandstand on; even Woodward & Bernstein worked with the understanding that at any point, Katharine Graham could drop the ax on their investigation when it appeared to be treading water. It’s not unheard of for a publisher to step in if the work product isn’t newsworthy, defensible and/or could result in the entire enterprise being taken down in lawsuits because the reporting was flawed/false. Denton did the responsible thing.
The group of millennials working for that place seems to have forgotten a cardinal rule of any work place: Never forget who signs your checks. Their boss has been very hands off for thirteen years, but that doesn’t preclude him from stepping in and averting disaster when the people hired to be editors – gatekeepers of what is published – fail in their duties.
Gawker Media is like “my first journalism job” but they all think they’re Woodward & Bernstein.
Woodward & Bernstein aren’t even Woodward & Bernstein anymore, FWIW. They got lucky.
Gawker is really bringing me down these days. If it weren’t for Caity, I would quit them.
What creeps me out so much is that he sounds way more like a bitter and jealous ex boyfriend than the father of his daughter. he seems like Trump in those things who said “if she wasnt my daughter perhaps i would date her”
Eww.
IIRC, they’re pics of Hulk massaging sun screen on his daughter. I use the term massage because it was way beyond a Dad protecting his daughter from UVA rays. It was downright creepy.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2269832/Hulk-Hogan-raises-eyebrows-tweets-revealing-picture-daughters-bare-legs.html
So gross and disturbing!! I actually used to watch their reality TV show on Vh1 when I was in my teens, and he was ALWAYS making creepy comments about his daughter and it wasn’t in that “my daughter is beautiful and no man is good enough for her” way that some dads get. You’re right, he really does sound like a scorned ex-boyfriend.
This exactly. The racist remarks are disgusting, obviously. And I don’t mean to say this in a way that minimizes how important it is to call out these horrible racist attitudes, so I hope this doesn’t come off that way. But what really got to me is the way he talks about his daughter like he’s her pimp. It’s gross, misogynistic, and disturbing. It’s like the only thing she has to offer him is a business relationship, and that’s horrible. I feel bad for Brooke.
Let’s not forget his girlfriend or ex girlfriend who was Brookes twin.
Isn’t that his wife now?
As far as the “Eight years ago” thing, I’m just guessing that the genius who strung together this word salad
“But then when it comes to nice people and s–t, and whatever.”
is also not too good at math.
Who talks about their kid like that? What father would talk about his daughter f*cking guys? I guess she’s just a piece of meat (or ass rather) to him. Gross.
It’s all good that WWE terminated his contract, but WWE is in no position to pass judgement on anyone considering their lengthy history of racist, sexist, and homophobic story lines.
Yep. WWE head Vince McMahon has used the N word publicly. He said it was part of a skit, but who knows. Sounds like they are both racist.
The real gem in all of this though is Brooke’s loooooong poem trying to defend her dad.
http://nypost.com/2015/07/25/hulk-hogans-daughter-writes-poem-for-her-embattled-father/
omg thank you for posting that, a million thank yous
to brooke, all i have to say is god bless
Come on, people. It was written from the heart. She sees a different side of him, that’s all. No snarking because she’s not Walt Whitman.
Yeah, I have to agree. She put her self out there to defend her dad. I can’t ridicule her for that.
Not surprising, this guy is nasty, remember a few years ago when his son left a guy brain damaged by driving dangerously? This idiot was caught on tape telling his son that the young man probably did something in a past life to attract that bad karma, nothing about his sons irresponsible behaviour.
As for wasting 2-3 million on his hideously talentless daughter who still couldn’t make it, what kind of billionaire would be stupid enough to waste even more money on such a loser? I wonder what she was doing for someone to pretend to pump money into her career. No billionaire would be dumb enough to actually waste real dollars!!!!!
This is all I could think about. Hogan clearly has issues, nobody says those things about a kid who was left brain dead because his very own son was drunk driving.
And it wasn’t like it was “caught on tape”, he went on some late night show and said it blatantly.
He’s a bad person, a racist and hateful egomaniac.
I don’t see the sleaze in his relationship with his daughter. People were reading way too much into such things as his putting sunscreen on her. Families differ in how comfortable they are with physical contact. I would expect Hulk wouldn’t think twice about it because in his business, he’s used to getting professional massages to deal with muscle issues. Yes, he dated (married) someone who looks like her – but she happens to look like her mother did in her younger days. A lot of men have a type.
And yes, a doting dad is quite likely to pour to a ton of money into a talentless progeny’s attempt at a career. Look at what Will Smith buys for his kids – whole movies, studios, tours. Sad because it means the kids will never know if they had any real talent after all.
I abhor racists, but I give him a pass on this one. Gawker I feel is out of line for this one and I hope he gets money from the lawsuit. Honestly, a lot of people would have an issue still with a mixed raced relationship with their daughter/son (as PC as my dad is I am sure he would if I started dating a different raced man unless he was highly educated and had loads of money). This is a symptom of the racism in our culture. I also think he shouldn’t be fired for what he said during pillow talk and I don’t believe he is a racist but I definitely could be wrong.
Why does he get a pass because it was “pillow talk”? What he said was hateful and, yes, absolutely racist. No passes given. Many people may have an issue with mixed race relationships, but not many would resort to reducing the non-white partner (who seems accomplished, by the way – at least more accomplished than Hulk’s daughter) to an epithet. And to repeat it multiple times! It is not a “symptom” of racism. It is racism. Period. Full stop.
Bubba The Love Sponge? Who even are these people.
Wrestlers naturally! Just like many other fine WWE employees: Roadkill, Scotty 2 Hotty, Beaver Cleavage, Doink the Clown, Brutus Beefcake… Oh, Justin Credible! Why were you asking?
I am a wrestling fan, not particularly a Hulk Hogan fan but to me I feel like something else is about to be discovered. Is he a racist a-hole? Yes. But like it has been said, this was kind of a known thing….and has been known for a while, I believe.
I mean when some people think wrestling they immediately think Hulk Hogan… so I think this history of racist a-holery is just the tip of the iceberg and something bigger and much worse is about to come out.
He’s always been creepy where his daughter is concerned.
You don’t even have to qualify that statement.
Why did Clem tape this?
“…s demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers …”
Really WWE? You think your wrestlers are ‘diverse’? HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot even picture a non-white WWE wrestler. And in the past when they have had minorities they’ve had them say scripted terribly stereotyped things.