D-Von Dudley Slams Disco Inferno for Defending Jim Ross in Racism Controversy

D-Von Dudley is not holding back and putting Disco Inferno on blast after Inferno defended Jim Ross over racism claims.

While speaking on the Duke Loves Rasslin podcast, Duke mentioned how Disco Inferno reacted strangely to D-Von Dudley’s racism incident with Jim Ross, asking why anyone should criticize Ross for something that happened 20 years ago and saying he didn’t want to “pile on” him.

D-Von answered by saying nobody asked Disco to attack or bury Jim Ross. He said there should be no time limit on calling out racism. If someone says something racist, it’s still wrong whether it was said 20 minutes ago or 20 years ago.

Dudley explained that he wasn’t trying to start trouble. The situation bothered him for a long time, and he finally talked about it because he didn’t want to keep those feelings anymore.

“No one asked you to bury anybody. Nobody asked you to pile up on anybody. So that’s number one. Number two, I didn’t know there was a statute of limitations on being a damn racist. When you tell somebody, ‘I don’t like you because of the color of your skin,’ I don’t care if you said it 20 minutes ago or 20 years ago — it’s still wrong. And you’re a damn coward if you don’t have the balls to just say, ‘Hey, that’s wrong. That shouldn’t have happened. It’s unfortunate, and hopefully things have changed.’

I know Disco, and we’ve never had any problems. The bottom line is this: think of how all of this started months ago. I said something about this, and I never said any names. People were getting on me because I didn’t say any names.

It wasn’t like I woke up one day and said, ‘Let me bury JR.’ That’s not how it worked. This was something that bothered me for a long time. Every time I saw the man, I felt a certain way — and I didn’t want to feel that way anymore. When it came out on my show, I was glad it was out, because now I don’t have to sit here and act a certain way anymore.”

D-Von also said people don’t understand that he didn’t feel like he could speak up back then because of his position. He added that Disco shouldn’t judge him because he hasn’t lived as a Black man and doesn’t know how it feels. He pointed out that people are still apologizing today for things done in the past because those things still hurt.

“People ask, ‘Why didn’t you say it 20 years ago?’ Did you not understand what I said? I was in a position where I didn’t feel like I could say anything. People don’t understand that. So they can say whatever they want. What I do know is this: if Disco is trying to bury us for saying this, then Disco, you’re wrong. I’m just going to say that. I’m not going to get into a shouting match or go back and forth and give the dirt sheets something to talk about.

That’s my belief. You’re not African-American, so you don’t know how it feels. Whether it was 20, 30, or 50 years ago, people are still getting apologies today from racist people from the 50s and 60s because it still hurts. People are still getting apologies today.”

Dudley said he wasn’t trying to make things worse for Jim Ross, who is already having health problems. D-Von said he would be open to talking if anyone wanted a real conversation, but he still believes what was said to him was wrong, no matter who said it or how long ago it happened

“Say what you want, but I know how I felt all those years. If anyone ever wanted to have a conversation or a phone call, I would have one. I’d talk about it. I’m not opposed to it. But again, you said things that weren’t right back then. Whether it was because you had power or not, you said it — and it was wrong.”

D-Von Dudley refused to let his past experience be ignored. By calling out Disco Inferno, he showed the need for accountability, respect, and understanding how racism still affects people no matter how long ago it happened. His point was simple: defending racist behavior, whether it happened today or years in the past, is still wrong and that’s never going to change.

Do you agree that there’s no time limit when it comes to calling out racism in wrestling? Should wrestlers speak up sooner, or is the timing irrelevant if the harm is real?

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