2-Time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan remains one of pro wrestling’s most polarizing figures, largely due to his racist comments that surfaced in 2015 and his very public support of U.S. President Donald Trump in later years.
Speaking on the Underground Dialogue podcast, Hogan’s fellow Hall of Famer Booker T shared his perspective on The Hulkster and whether he ever saw signs of racism during their time together.
“That’s a good question, man. It really is a good question, but… a lot of people, just like, for instance, at the end of his career, at the end of his life, you know, he was doing a lot of stuff with Trump. And you might equate that to him being a racist. That’s something that he did again, right?
His political views were revealed right before he died. We never knew that before. Normally, you know a racist by the people that they hang around. And I was always around Hogan. I was always around the people that he knew, and none of those guys were racist.”
He also spoke about Hogan’s leaked private comments, explaining that one bad moment shouldn’t necessarily define a person.
“Capturing a moment, when he did say the racist comments – this is what I always say about that. You’ve been in your house before when the camera ain’t rolling – you might say some stuff that would make people think you’re a racist. Am I right or wrong?
You might, because your guard is down and you’re just spewing, you’re just talking. Even though, man, I say stuff about white folks sometimes too. Brad Gilmore is white, and he’s like my best friend.
Especially when you’re drinking… alcohol’s involved, maybe drugs, someone influencing you or coercing you. I don’t think that camera or mic would have been there otherwise. So everybody talks about the racist comment, but no one thinks about the situation that it came out of.”
Booker ended by praising Hogan for the way he treated him when he was coming up in the business.
“Hogan helped me when I was a young, aspiring wrestler trying to move up in the business. I don’t think he would’ve done that if he was a racist.
Racists don’t go, ‘Let me go help the Black guy.’ I never looked at Hogan like a friend, but whenever we saw each other, we always dapped up. He never looked down on me or shunned me.”
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