Hogan followed with a boiler-plate apology later Friday morning.
STORY DEVELOPING –– Hogan has apologized in a statement to People magazine:
Hogan said in a statement exclusively to PEOPLE. The transcript featuring that conversation was published online by the National Enquirer.“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,” Hogan told PEOPLE. “I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
Hogan’s lawyer, David Houston, also told People that Hogan resigned from WWE.
“He decided to resign from WWE because he didn’t want to put them or his family through this,” Houston said.
Way to disappoint your fans, Hulk Hogan. After finding out about his racist tirade on July 23, WWE viewers are totally disgusted with his remarks — and okay that he’s been fired!
STORY DEVELOPING –– Hulk Hogan, 61, was fired from the WWE on July 23 after audio of the Hulkster repeatedly using the n-word dropped. It’s not the first time that he’s been recording saying it, either. The iconic wrestling star has been scrubbed from the WWE, including their hall of fame — and fans are actually okay with that. Their reactions ranged from total disbelief over the scandal, to utter disgust! See their reactions below!
Hulk was recorded saying the n-word in a 2012 interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Whoolywood Shuffle, which raised shock and concern from his employer, World Wrestling Entertainment. It wasn’t the first time that the Hulkster was caught using the disgusting slur; there is reportedly audio of Hulk using the n-word in reference to fellow wrestlers, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, according to The Huffington Post. It showed that Hulk clearly uses the slur casually, and the WWE wasn’t having that. He was fired from the organization, with all mentions of him stripped completely. He as also been dropped from USA’s Tough Enough.
What you gonna do when the Hulkster runs wildly racist on you?
Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan was body-slammed by WWE on Friday when it was revealed he went off on a racist tirade in his infamous sex tape that’s at the center of a lawsuit with Gawker, according to reports.
Hogan is heard spewing hate speech in a conversation about his daughter, Brooke, and her African-American boyfriend, sources told Radar Online and The National Enquirer:
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f–k some n—-r, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n—-r worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we’re all a little racist. F–king n—-r.”
WWE has scrubbed Hogan from several online platforms, according to a report by Wresting Inc: His profile was removed from the Alumni section of WWE’s website, related merchandise was removed from its online shop and Hogan was removed from the cast listing for Tough Enough, a WWE-produced reality series.
“WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan),” said a statement from WWE. “WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.”
The backdrop for this controversy is the ongoing lawsuit in which Hogan — call him Terry Bollea in court, please — is suing Gawker Media for $100 million for invasion of privacy, after the website published a clip from the 2006 sex tape allegedly featuring Hogan and the then-wife of his then-best friend. The trial was set to start July 6, but was postponed with an October hearing and no new trial date.
Friday’s reputation-puncturing reveals about Hogan — whose stage persona exhorted kids to say their prayers and take their vitamins — surely help Gawker’s defense.
Hogan has a history with the n-word. Online wrestling forums dusted off a years-old radio interview on DJ Whoo’s SiriusXM show in which Hogan uses the slur several times in telling a story.
DJ Whoo Kidd asked: “You’ve been saying ‘brother’ for years. Any black guy ever say, ‘Yo, you my n—-r, you my n—-r, Hulk?'”
Hogan replied: “Well, Booker T [a black ex-wrestler] used to say that to me on TV, and, you know, every time I pull up YouTube there’s that famous thing that Booker T .. .goes, ‘I’m coming for you, my n—-r.’
“They’re all calling me n—-r, and then I started saying it and you know, I always said it, but now all of a sudden I get heat when I said it.”
WWE terminates Hulk Hogan’s contract, erases him from Web site
STORY DEVELOPING –– Using language so hate-filled and vile it would shock even his most ardent fans, Hulk brazenly blustered to Heather Clem – the wife of his former pal Bubba “The Love Sponge,” with whom he was covertly filmed having sex with in 2012 – that he was an unabashed “racist."
"I guess we’re all a little racist," he crowed on the tape, multiple sources have confirmed exclusively to The ENQUIRER.
Despite his TV image as a born-again Christian, the tapes prove that Hulk is a very different man off camera!
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*cking 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*cking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*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!
"I guess we’re all a little racist. Fucking n*gger."
Radar and The ENQUIRER has learned explosive transcripts of the loathsome conversation have been filed in a Florida court, under seal, in a bid to prevent them from being publicly released.
But an extensive news probe uncovered five independent sources who provided the dramatic contents of the tape to this publication.
Hulk did not return a request for comment.
