Lars Sullivan wasn’t interested in tiptoeing around the controversy surrounding Dustin Rhodes. While Rhodes has spent the fallout insisting he never meant to support an anti-Islam message, Sullivan jumped into the conversation and flat-out declared that it is “ok to be islamophobic.”
The former WWE star took to Twitter as the argument surrounding Rhodes continued spreading online and made his own position clear.
“It’s ok to be islamophobic. There are something like 57 muslim countries. Go there if you love it so much. If you’re in America, assimilate. Cry about it”
There wasn’t much ambiguity there. Sullivan didn’t argue that Rhodes had been misunderstood. He didn’t point to Dustin’s apology or defend his explanation that he simply hadn’t read the caption. Instead, Sullivan went directly after Muslims himself and told those living in America to “assimilate” or go somewhere else.
The whole mess started after Rhodes responded with “❤️🤘🏼” to a Twitter post containing anti-Islam messaging and imagery that was also criticized as anti-trans. Fans immediately went after the AEW veteran, with some even tagging Tony Khan and demanding that the company address it.
Rhodes eventually apologized and said he hadn’t read the caption at all. According to him, he saw the firearm in the photo, liked it and reacted without paying attention to the message attached to it.
That apology didn’t completely stop the backlash. Gail Kim eventually stepped in to defend Rhodes after he suggested he might quit Twitter, arguing that he had already apologized and deserved a chance to move on.
Now Sullivan has thrown himself into the middle of the same controversy for an entirely different reason. Rhodes says he never intended to endorse Islamophobia. Sullivan just openly said being Islamophobic is okay. One tweet later, and there isn’t much guessing required about where the former WWE star stands.
What do you think of Lars Sullivan’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.
