In his first major on-camera interview since departing WWE and TKO, Vince McMahon addressed the controversy surrounding Hulk Hogan’s racist remarks during the FOX documentary TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan.
McMahon called the comments “unforgivable,” but stood by WWE’s decision to reinstate Hogan into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
The documentary revisited the 2012 sex tape scandal, which included audio of Hogan making racist remarks, leading to his removal from WWE in 2015. “It was unforgivable and I was aghast, ‘What happened?’ That’s not like him. What in God’s name is going on?” McMahon recalled.
McMahon said the company had no choice but to take swift action: “As soon as it happened, obviously, the company didn’t have anything to do with him anymore. We took him out of the Hall of Fame. You just don’t do those things.”
Despite the initial fallout, Hogan was reinstated three years later. McMahon defended the move, insisting Hogan’s words did not define his character: “I knew he wasn’t racist. He said some racist things. He should pay for that, and he did. In the end, I think everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan. We all make mistakes. That was a big one, but he wasn’t a racist.”
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The special also highlighted Hogan’s monumental career, his nWo heel turn, charitable work with Make-A-Wish, and backstage efforts to help fellow wrestlers, including a story from Jimmy Hart about Hogan fighting for better pay for the late Kamala.
Interviews with Bill Goldberg, Mick Foley, Mark Henry, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and others rounded out the retrospective.
The program touched on McMahon’s own absence from WWE. When host Harvey Levin mentioned the irony of McMahon missing Hogan’s on-air ten-bell salute due to his own situation, McMahon admitted: “It struck me that way as well.”
TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan will soon be available to stream on Hulu.
