Deonna Purrazzo Admits Constant Body Shaming Nearly Derailed Her AEW Career

Deonna Purrazzo is speaking openly—and painfully—about the body shaming she went through after arriving in AEW, and this time she’s laying it all out in her own words.

In a new interview on Gabby AF, the AEW star was asked how she handles online negativity now that she’s in a healthier mental space. That question led Purrazzo to revisit the intense body‑shaming she endured when she first debuted in AEW—and why it changed her life far beyond the ring.

Purrazzo explained that while anonymous trolls are easy to dismiss on paper, the nonstop repetition made the abuse impossible to escape.

“Every time I tweet, tweets back, ‘you’re fat, you’re a pig, you’re obese,’ a GIF of like someone jiggling their belly. Every tweet. It’s nonstop.”

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Purrazzo said the real harm wasn’t just seeing the comments—it was how they lingered in her mind.

“It’s hard to see those things over and over and over again and then not have your brain stuck on it, and also not have your brain then repeat those things to you.”

Purrazzo revealed that when she first arrived in AEW, the backlash became so severe that the company had to turn off comments on one of her posts. What hurt most was that fans ignored the wrestling entirely.

“And I think that when I first started at AEW, I went through such bad body shaming, and AEW had to turn the comments off of one of my posts. And people, like, they didn’t care about my match with Red Velvet. They cared about what my body looked like. And for me, it was kind of like I thought we had a great match. I thought we did some cool stuff. Like, that was the least thing on my mind when I got back through the curtain.”

Deonna Purrazzo explained that the backlash hit her immediately, and relentlessly as she couldn’t even sleep that night.

“I didn’t sleep that night because I just kept refreshing, refreshing—and it was like a million comments, millions of views of how obese I am,” she said. “I’m like, is that how you see me? ’Cause that’s not how I see myself.”

She added that although some online trolls are easier to ignore, the constant wave of cruel messages eventually infiltrated her thoughts.

“It’s hard to see those things over and over and over again and then not have your brain stuck on it… not have your brain then repeat those things to you.”

Purrazzo admitted the emotional toll was so heavy, it almost derailed her career before it could begin.

“In that year, I didn’t want to be on TV. I didn’t want to put gear on. I didn’t want to go to work and have people look at me in gear. I didn’t want to be on the internet. And then it affected my body of work.”

Today, the ROH Women’s Pure Champion is in a better place—thanks to therapy, support from her partner, and setting boundaries with social media. But she made it clear that the impact of that period still lingers.

“My advice is — I went to therapy. I have a great partner who lets me vent… I’ve tried to find a balance between being on social media and just tweeting what I have to tweet and getting off of it.”

And in a touching gesture, Purrazzo offered her voice and empathy to anyone going through something similar.

“Anyone who’s listening that needs someone to listen to, hit me up. I’m more than happy to have conversations and be a shoulder to lean on… The more we’re vocal about it and the more we’re open about it, the more we take their power away.”

Purrazzo’s honesty is a much-needed reminder that behind every wrestling character is a human being dealing with real pain. Her strength in speaking out not only reclaims her story—it gives others permission to do the same.

What do you think about the way wrestling fans interact with talent online? Should promotions do more to protect wrestlers from harassment? Drop your thoughts below and let’s keep the conversation going.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.