Hulk Hogan is seeking forgiveness in the most public way after a video of him dropping the N-word countless times recently surfaced. The WWE superstar, whose contract was actually terminated by the corporation for his racial slur-filled rant, stopped by Good Morning America on Monday Aug. 31 to apologize for his remarks and beg the world to bring him back into their good graces.
"I'm not a racist, I never should have said what I said," explained Hogan in the Good Morning America interview. "It was wrong, I'm embarrassed by it ... Please forgive me. Please forgive me. I think if you look at the whole picture of who Hulk Hogan is, you can see over all the years that there's not a racist bone in my body."
The Hulkster, born Terry Bollea, was known for his iconic leg drop and helping transform the WWE into a global wrestling phenomenon. His name was later tarnished after video surfaced of Hogan referring to his daughter's former boyfriend, who happens to be African-American, by the N-word. The 62-year-old was reportedly disgruntled over a situation that transpired between him and his daughter, Brooke Bollea, which later led to the unfortunate spew of verbal vitriol.
"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," said the famed wrestler in a leaked video.
The apologetic father of two was emotional throughout the interview, as he continued to plead his case. Hogan revealed the racial scandal even caused him to contemplate suicide. Hogan recalls growing up in south Tampa around friends, both black and white, who would use the word around him all the time. Sometimes his friends would even greet him with the N-word, leaving him to believe it was all a part of the culture and environment where he grew up.
I love him beyond words. Kindest man my soul has met. Happy birthday my sweet daddy.
A photo posted by Brooke Hogan (@mizzhogan) on Aug 11, 2015 at 3:19pm PDT
"If everybody at their lowest point was judged on one thing they said and let's just say in high school, you may have said one bad thing and all of a sudden, your whole career was wiped out today because of something you said 10 or 20 years ago, it'd be a sad world. People get better every day. People get better."
After having the wrestling legend's name and legacy removed from the WWE's Hall of Fame and being publicly shunned by millions of people around the world, Hogan is looking to use this experience as a life lesson. His daughter Brooke has stood firmly by his side, even dedicating a poem to her dad about being a great man and raising her the right way. Ultimately, Hogan hopes to eventually put this scandal behind him and fight for the word to be unacceptable for everyone to use.
