The boss of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has banned Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife Linda from any of the promotion’s shows for her distasteful tweet about the protests consuming America.
The furious unrest, sparked by the death of black man George Floyd when a white police officer pressed his knee into the 46-year-old’s neck for nearly nine minutes, has spanned 140 cities as citizens across the US take a stand against racial injustice.
AEW President and CEO Tony Khan responded to a tweet from Linda Hogan, who was married to WWE icon Hulk Hogan for 25 years, saying: “You’ve now joined your husband in being banned from all AEW shows. Congratulations.”
His blunt words were in response to a tweet from Linda that has since been deleted. In it, she wrote: “Watching the looting, it’s all afro Americans, not sure how robbing and stealing set the record straight but if they want to be heard they need to be civilised.”
Wrestler Prince Nana called her remark “sickening” on Twitter while fellow wrestler and commentator AJ Kirsch wrote: “@LindaHogan, you should just go ahead and delete your entire Twitter account, not just that one tweet. You know the one.”
Khan’s reference to Hulk Hogan — real name Terry Gene Bollea — also being banned is reportedly related to racist comments made years ago by the WWE Hall of Famer.
In 2015, a tape emerged of him using a racist slur that saw the WWE terminate his contract. Bollea was heard using the n-word when talking about his daughter’s love life.
Bollea called the controversy the “biggest mistake” of his life but after apologising, was reinstated into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Linda and Bollea were married for a quarter of a century and have two children together. They filed for divorce in 2007.
Linda alleged Bollea cheated on her and broke down in tears when reading out a letter to him on American TV in 2016.
“You have single-handedly ruined our 25-year marriage and our family,” she said. “My trust, my love, my future, our future family with grandchildren, holidays, weddings, our kids’ lives, homes, their ability to trust, our poor animals, friends, neighbours, your career, finances, trademarks, retirement, your legacy, your reputation, your health, even your soul. You lost it all.
“You took me for granted and never appreciated me or our beautiful family … blaming me for your horrendous mistakes.
“Until you can really apologise to me and to our children I will never ever forgive you.”