Deonna Purrazzo Reveals Long-Term Impact of Viral Body-Shaming Incident

Deonna Purrazo debuted in AEW back in 2024 but she ended up getting body-shamed in a big way after her in-ring debut against Red Velvet. More than a year after the incident, Purrazzo has revealed how she felt getting body-shamed while wrestling.

While speaking to Mighty Pursuit, Deonna talked about how hard it was to get back in the ring after a viral moment made her feel judged by fans. She said she had never felt that way before in her 12 years of wrestling.

After the incident, she didn’t want to wear her gear or be in front of people because she felt like everyone was just looking for something negative to say about her body. It made her feel very self-conscious, something she had never experienced like this before.

“You have to go back to work, right? And so it’s like—you have to put the gear back on and go back out there again. You’re under contract… I think I cried because I was like, I don’t want to. I don’t want to put on gear. I don’t want to go to work. I don’t want to be in front of all these people in spandex knowing they’re judging me and knowing that they are looking for something to point out negative about me. I don’t think I had ever felt like that before. And I had been wrestling, you know, 12 years at that point. I had never been so self-conscious about myself.”

Advertising

Advertising

Purrazzo also stated that even though the moment has passed, it still affects her every day. Fans may have moved on, but in her mind, it’s still there. Every time she walks out for a match, she worries about how her gear looks and whether it fits her body in a way that makes her feel confident.

Some days she feels good in the morning, but after traveling and going through the day, she doesn’t feel the same by showtime. She said people don’t see how often she’s thinking about these things and how it affects her confidence all the time.

“I think again, that really only manifested when this situation happened. And I don’t think fans see that. I think they say their comment and they move on to the next thing. But my brain hasn’t moved on from January last year. And so even now when I go out through the curtain, I think about those things. I’m thinking about, well, if that gear doesn’t look good on me, what different style of gear can I get? Is there something that will cover me up more so I feel better about myself? Or yeah, when I look in the mirror in the morning, I’m like, ‘Ooh, look—okay, she looks skinny today.’ And then by the time I go through the curtain, I’m like, well, I’ve lived a whole day. I’ve eaten. I’ve traveled. I’ve done whatever I had to do for that day. And by the time I put on my gear, my body doesn’t look the same. And then I get sad. They don’t see that… the conversations I’m having with myself 24/7.”

It’s clear that Deonna Purrazzo has grown a lot as a person after dealing with so much hate just because of her appearance. Despite everything, she chooses to focus on the loyal fans who continue to support her. Still, it’s unfortunate and upsetting that she continues to face body-shaming even now.

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