Former WWE star CJ Perry, known as Lana, appeared on TMZ Inside the Ring to discuss various topics, including the backlash from fans over her storyline with Dolph Ziggler.
Perry said, “So I mean, it made sense to me. I know everyone was really mad. I think people were mad because they knew I was together with Rusev. And they thought Vince was trying to get at us. Instead of like, just take a step back. This just makes sense. Like, I have this savage, hairy man [and then] come out with the Ken doll, blonde hair, blue-eyed American. Like, it made sense. How to get back [at them]? I’ve identified with it. I’m like, that’s how I would pay back a ex-husband or an ex-relationship.”
On fans chanting dirty names at her:
“I’m sorry. I might get a little bit out of pocket right now. But you know what’s really funny to me? Is like, I realized that people will comment their fantasies. So people will be like, ‘Oh, she’s a slut! She banged five men!’ And it’s really they’re just fantasizing by that. It’s like all these like, ‘You’re a whore!’ And it’s like, ‘No, you just really want to imagine me being a whore.’ It’s just like funny to me.”
On being called derogatory names because of her WWE character:
“Even when I was in WWE, all the top guys — and this is the thing. It’s like a lot of the top guys would call me names. So it’s only fair for the everyone else to call me names. So, like if John Cena is calling me an escort when I’m dressed in a suit, it’s like, why? I haven’t kissed anyone yet. And he was — you had The Rock calling me a streetwalker. You had Cena calling me an escort. They would all — because they couldn’t hit me. So the only way to get a pop from the crowd was to basically be like, ‘You’re a slut.’ ‘Ooooh!’ And so you know, I’m a bad guy. And I guess the — I had to get humiliated as a bad guy. My job is to go out there and rally up the fans, get everyone hot, and then to be humiliated at the end. And so I think that’s why I’m a bonafide legend now.”
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(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
