Hulk Hogan was devastated to be blacklisted from WWE after it was revealed he'd used racist language while referring to his daughter's boyfriend in a secretly recorded sex tape.
Hulk Hogan
A transcript from the X-rated recording - which was made in 2007 without his knowledge or consent - was leaked ahead of his 2016 trial against website Gawker, who had posted a clip of the footage online in October 2012, which revealed him using the 'N-word' during a conversation about his daughter Brooke Hogan's then-boyfriend.
Speaking to OBJECTified in an interview set to air on US this weekend, the wrestling legend said: "When I heard this was going to happen, I called them on a Thursday or a Friday. As I hung up the phone that night, they fired me in the morning. It really caught me off guard, I didn't expect it because the WWE knows who I am. I'm not that person, that's not who I am and that's not what I do."
The multi-time world champion - real name Terry Bollea - was fired from his position as an ambassador for the sports entertainment giant, who removed all reference to him from their official website and from their Hall of Fame.
Hogan has since apologised for the remarks, insisting the incident occurred at the lowest point of his life when he was going through a divorce from his wife Linda Hogan, feared his career was over and was dealing with the fallout from his son Nick being charged with dangerous driving due to a car crash he had which left his best friend John Graziano with serious life changing injuries. Nick was eventually jailed for the offence.
Hogan is considered by most wrestling experts for being responsible to the global success of WWE in the 1980s and the reason the company's annual showpiece 'WrestleMania' became a pop culture phenomenon and he has conceded it has been "tough" to see his 40-year career erased.
However, he understands the decision, saying: "I think they did what was best for business ... They were worried about losing sponsors and network support."
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