RVD Says Hulk Hogan Racism Controversy Got Blown Out Of Proportion

Despite Hulk Hogan’s passing away last month, many people still continue to hate him due to his racist remarks in the past. However, RVD has now made it clear that he believes the controversy surrounding his remarks got blown out of proportion.

While speaking on the 1 of a Kind podcast, RVD talked about the controversy with Hulk Hogan’s past racist remarks. He explained that the situation could be put into perspective and not blown out of proportion, since it wasn’t as if Hogan had committed something like murder.

RVD noted how Vince McMahon admitted Hogan made a very bad mistake, paid for it, and moved on. For RVD, since he knows Hogan personally, it feels unfair that so many people hate him based only on a small part of his past.

“Vince talking about Hogan’s racial slur, you know, I think that maybe, perspectively, in the overall picture, that could validly be played down a little. It’s not like he murdered somebody, you know? And just hearing Vince say, you know, he makes mistakes and he did make a mistake, and it was a really bad one, and he did pay for it. However he put it, I just thought, and he’s right, but I just thought, man, for knowing Hulk like I know him, and then knowing that there are so many people that just choose to hate him that don’t even know him, but they hate him because of the little bit they know about him—it just felt like those comments supported that kind of consequence or punishment. Like that thought process of, yeah, I get what you mean.”

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RVD explained that if someone is racist, he doesn’t need society to tell him to hate that person. He wasn’t saying Hulk Hogan is or isn’t racist, only that people should be able to decide for themselves how serious that is compared to other bad actions.

RVD questioned why society tells people to hate a racist more than someone who cheats on their spouse or abuses their partner, when everyone should decide for themselves which is worse.

“I say this every week, you know, but if somebody is a racist, I don’t need other people in society telling me that I need to hate this person because he is a racist. And I’m not saying that Hulk is or isn’t. I mean, you heard him in his own words say that he guessed he is, kind of, or whatever. So the point is moot. I’m just saying, either way, it could be anybody. It could be you. If it turned out that you hate a certain race of people and you feel really strong about it, I might think that makes you stupid, but if everyone tells me that I need to hate you—and they’re telling me I need to hate you worse than an adulterer, worse than a wife abuser—shouldn’t I be able to choose for myself which is the worse person, and whether that has anything to do with where I meet this person on? You know what I mean?”

The Whole F’n Show also said people have the right to their own feelings. For example, if a Black family doesn’t want their daughter to marry a white man, that’s their choice. He admitted racial slurs are wrong today, but argued that being racist should still be weighed against other actions like cheating or someone beating their wife.

“So, having said that, there are so many people that think Hulk’s a horrible person. And I kind of also think if somebody doesn’t want their kid to marry someone of a different race, I think they should have the right to have those feelings. You know, if it’s a Black family and they don’t want their daughter to marry a white boy, I think they have that right. Now, the language, the rap, the slurs—all that, those are crimes in today’s society. But still, for me, looking at the bigger picture and weighing out somebody that is a racist against someone that cheats on their wife, against someone that beats their wife…”

RVD compared this to rap culture, where racism is not accepted, but things like cheating or even violence against women can be normalized. He pointed out Offset cheating on Cardi B many times as an example. To him, society can be quick to say someone is the “devil” for saying the N-word, but more forgiving about other wrongs.

“Let’s assume, in rap culture, it’s probably safe to assume one, they probably don’t like racists. Two, they might be okay with beating women, because it’s cool to give them a pimp slap. And adultering is cool, because they all do it and get busted all the time. Like Offset cheated on Cardi B over and over and over until finally it seems like it split them up. I mean, they choose their own values. And they’re like, ‘Oh, he said the N-word, he’s the devil.’ You know, but they have that right. But we also have the right to take that into consideration with all the other factors that we want to include as well—even some they’re not including, like whether he’s a good person or not, stuff like that, right?”

Even Koko B. Ware defended Hulk Hogan against racism allegations after his passing. Regardless, RVD simply wanted to make it clear that he felt the whole racism controversy was blown out of proportion and that’s all that mattered to him in the end.

Do you agree with RVD that Hulk Hogan’s controversy has been blown out of proportion, or do you think his past comments should define how fans remember him? Sound off in the comments.

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