SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
A few months removed from being scrubbed from WWE, Hulk Hogan is back on the media circuit attempting to grab sympathy.
In an interview with BBC Radio, Hogan followed the formula of acknowledging that his racist remarks caught on tape eight years ago “never should have been said” and it was the “stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
Then, Hogan said he feels like the out-cry against him passed a threshold to where he feels like it was over-done.
“Everyone knee-jerk reacted and kind of went crazy. Then they went, ‘Wait a minute, we know who this guy is,’ and they thought about it and realized what the situation was,” Hogan said.
“They went, ‘Wait a minute, he said this where? And it was in private? And it was eight years ago? I haven’t changed the way I feel about Hulk Hogan, he’s just made a huge mistake and he’s very upset about it.’
“A lot of the media and critics beat so hard on me they actually got me sympathy, people feel bad that the media has been so abusive.”
Hogan, who travels to the U.K. for a one-night appearance in Sheffield on November 14, finished with a nod to his fans for their support.
“The fans know me, they’re loyal. No matter what I have been through, the good the bad, they’ve been there for 30 years,” Hogan said.
[ LINK: Full Interview with BBC Radio ]
F— Hogan. He and his supporters are only sorry that he got caught.
ironic that it was “BBC” that got Hogan in trouble in the first place
You’re not supposed to do your own PR spinning after you screw up. It sounds really awkward. You’re supposed to have friends, family, or paid representatives doing that for you. Apparently he has nobody willing to do it.
Plenty of people are willing and supported him, Ric Flair, Piper before he died, Jericho, Kamala, George Foreman, Paul Orndorff, Virgil, The Genius, etc.
He got to stop talking about this. There’s no way any conversation about it can be a positive thing for him.
Hulk, I’m just north of London (which is 15 minutes away from literally anywhere) and if you swing by my neck of the woods, I’ve got plenty of rope I can sell you! Shovels too!
Metaphors, people, metaphors. I love that he lacks the tact to not directly reference the sympathy (which then has the reverse effect – harsh judgement brings sympathy, courting sympathy brings judgement).
I could orchestrate his *successful* apology routine and I have zero PR experience. What’s going on here?! I love it.
Alright: I’m sure most of us can agree that what Hogan said, in the past, was wrong. I sure do.
With that acknowledged, could I suggest that we now ‘bury the hatchet’ and extend forgiveness to him? C’mon. He’s been punished enough; both from his former workplace, and from society, in general. Surely we can be the bigger men/women about this whole thing and ‘extend the olive branch’ to him?