Dustin Rhodes says he never meant to support the anti-Islam and anti-trans message that got him hammered online. After responding to the controversial post with two emojis, Rhodes apologized and claimed he hadn’t even read the caption—he just liked the gun in the photo.
Rhodes took to Twitter after his “❤️🤘🏼” response started spreading and fans began calling him out over what he appeared to be supporting. His explanation was pretty straightforward.
“My apologies for liking a firearm pic. Did not not read the caption and that is my bad. I by no means, and you all know, I am not a racist person. We all bleed red. Truthfully liked the firearm in picture, nothing more. I sincerely apologize”
The original post showed a woman wearing a handgun in a holster and a shirt featuring a women’s bathroom symbol. The caption directly challenged Islam with the message:
“Hey ISLAM, come at take it.
I dare ya.”
Rhodes says none of that was why he reacted. According to him, he saw the firearm, liked the picture and didn’t bother reading what was written alongside it. But his apology didn’t end things.
One fan told Rhodes that racism wasn’t really the issue people were raising. The post was being criticized for religious bigotry and its anti-trans messaging, and the fan suggested Rhodes specifically apologize to Muslims and the trans community.
“I appreciate the apology, but the implications of the photo were about religious bigotry and being anti-trans. Not about racism, specifically. You might want to direct your apology toward Muslims and the trans community.”
Rhodes wasn’t interested in issuing another apology, however, and instead doubled down on his explanation that he simply hadn’t read the caption while insisting that people already know where he stands when it comes to the trans community.
“I don’t need to because I’m not a racist person. Like I said I didn’t read. I liked the picture that is all and everybody knows that I stand behind Tran people.”
The entire mess started with two emojis. Fans saw Rhodes respond positively to a post targeting Islam while featuring imagery widely read as anti-trans, and some immediately began tagging Tony Khan and calling for AEW to address it.
Rhodes has now explained exactly what happened from his side. He says he reacted to the firearm without reading the caption and apologized for doing so. But when a fan told him that apology didn’t directly address the Muslim and trans communities targeted by the original post, Rhodes made it clear he wasn’t offering another one.
What do you think of Dustin Rhodes’ explanation for his controversial Twitter response and his refusal to issue another apology? Let us know in the comments below.
