Dustin Rhodes is getting hammered by fans after publicly showing support for a provocative anti-Islam and anti-trans post on Twitter. The AEW veteran responded to the post with a heart and “rock on” emoji, and it didn’t take long for people to notice.
The original post came from an account called “Just Jen R” and featured a photo of the woman wearing a handgun in a holster alongside a shirt displaying a women’s bathroom symbol. She accompanied the image with a direct message aimed at Islam.
“Hey ISLAM, come at take it.
I dare ya.”
Rhodes didn’t write anything himself about Islam, Muslims or transgender people. Instead, he responded directly to the post with:
“❤️🤘🏼”
That was enough to set off backlash. Fans immediately questioned why Rhodes would publicly support the post, with one bringing up the Muslim wrestlers he has worked alongside throughout his career.
“You’ve worked with Muslim coworkers and you tweet this bull****? Wow”
Another didn’t hold back at all as they accused Rhodes of being racist: “f****** hell dude. get the f*** out of texas you racist jabroni.” For one Muslim fan, seeing the response from the man he grew up watching as Goldust was particularly disappointing.
“Man this sucks, as a muslim i was a big fan of you as goldust what a shame”
The backlash eventually reached Tony Khan directly. One fan called on the AEW President to keep Rhodes away from the company and its upcoming Wembley appearance.
“@TonyKhan keep this washed up bigot off aew pls and pls don’t let him be at Wembley. I’d seriously consider boycotting aew.”
Another fan also tagged Khan and interpreted Rhodes’ response as endorsing the imagery and message contained in the original post.
“@TonyKhan 1 of your employees, someone in a position of authority as a coach in your organisation, is endorsing gun violence towards us. I know you are not a Muslim, but you have 1 of the most visibly Muslim last names there is.”
Rhodes’ actual response had only two emojis, so he hasn’t publicly explained what specifically he intended to support about the post. That distinction hasn’t stopped fans from reading the response in the context of what he was responding to, and some are now demanding answers from both Rhodes and AEW.
What do you make of Dustin Rhodes’ response and the backlash that followed? Let us know in the comments below.
