In October 2025, WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley alleged that he experienced racism in WWE from “certain top officials,” later naming Jim Ross specifically. Ross publicly denied the allegation in December, stating that he did not recall such an incident and rejecting the claim.
While speaking on his podcast, Booker T addressed the situation and offered a nuanced take that neither outright defended nor condemned either man.
“I mean, not throwing JR under the bus or anything, but back then JR would drink a little bit. Maybe he forgot. You know, maybe he was saying it in jest—as a joke. You know what I mean? I don’t know.”
Booker made it clear, however, that he was not willing to dismiss D-Von’s account. “But I’m not going to disbelieve D-Von, that he heard that with his own ears. I’m not going to disbelieve that dude. He’s always been straight up.”
He then addressed the timing of the allegation coming to light decades later, questioning whether such stories should remain buried while acknowledging that emotional pain can take years to surface publicly.
“But it’s one of those things where it’s coming out, you know, a quarter century later. No, I’m serious—it’s coming out a quarter century later. And then there again, should stories like that be left buried? I really can’t speak on that because maybe if it was me, I would feel a different way.”
Booker added that he could understand why someone might eventually feel compelled to speak out. “Maybe it would have burned me inside so much that one day I had to say something about it. So I can’t discredit D-Von for coming out and saying something like that this many years later. I can’t do that at all.”
He also suggested that memory — or lack thereof — could play a role in Ross’s denial. “Maybe he really doesn’t remember it. Come on here—I’m being dead serious now, even though I’m laughing. Man, bro, I’m serious. I don’t know anything.”
Booker then shared his own personal experiences with Ross, stressing that they had been very different from what D-Von described. “And I say that because I’ve had interactions with JR my whole wrestling career, from WWE on, you know what I mean? I had many, many interactions. JR signed me right in WWE.”
He noted that Ross played a key role in helping him tell his personal story. “JR was very instrumental in me telling my story about being locked up and perhaps saving some other kid that was in my situation.”
Booker closed by emphasizing that his experiences are not universal and may not reflect what others went through. “And I’m not saying that to defend JR or anything like that. Then again, I’ve had a lot of experiences that have been different from a lot of other guys of color in this business. I’ve had a lot of different experiences—I must say that as well.”
Overall, Booker T framed the situation as complex and deeply personal, acknowledging D-Von Dudley’s claim while also explaining why Jim Ross may genuinely not remember the alleged incident, without definitively taking sides.
