Hulk Hogan is grateful that so many people have forgiven him over his use of racist language and he is determined not to let his mistake define him as a person.
The 65-year-old wrestling legend was last year reinstated in the WWE Hall of Fame and welcomed back to the company following his contract being terminated in 2015 following the release of a transcript made from a sex tape that was recorded without his consent back in 2007 which revealed him using the ‘N-word’ during a conversation about his daughter Brooke Hogan’s then-boyfriend.
Hulk has repeatedly apologised for his comments, which were made when he was suffering from depression in the wake of his wife Linda Hogan filing for divorce and host of other personal problems, and he admits the hardest thing has been trying to convince people that his outburst was uncharacteristic for him.
Appearing on his friend Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast, he said: "Well I mean that’s what a lot of people don’t understand. People can say a word or make a mistake and that doesn’t mean that’s who they are. You know?
"The hardest part was trying to explain to people that didn’t know me, and some people only knew me because of that. That was the hardest part. Trying to explain to people who didn’t know me who I really was. There’s a lot of people now that I’ve apologised to on several different levels and several times, and there’s still some people that the jury is still out. It’s been a really tough time, but a lot of people are very forgiving, and a lot of people are understanding. "I’m just grateful now that my friends never left me, and the fans never left me and a lot of the people that don’t know who I really am I’ve had an opportunity to speak to as many as I can, and try to not make an excuse but be accountable and say, ‘Yeah it was me I did it, but that’s not who I really am.’ "
Hulk hopes now he has been welcomed back by the WWE and has made things right with the majority of the roster that everyone can move on from the scandal, which stemmed from his successful lawsuit against website Gawker who were responsible for uploading a clip from the sex tape back in October 2012.
The multi-time world champion – real name Terry Bollea – does accept though that some people still want to bring it up and have an issue with what he did.
He added: "The people that keep bringing it up and keep pushing it forward … those are the people I worry about. For me … it was a brilliant delayed reaction. I mean … that’s kind of like … why I asked you. I had said … used the word … and it was now going on almost 13 years ago.
"I was made aware of it about five years ago. To tell you the truth I don’t remember that conversation, but that definitely was me, and I definitely said it, and I mean … total idiot. Totally out of control bad situation. There’s a million excuses for it, but it was me I said it. I’ve tried to be accountable for it."
When the scandal broke African-American wrestler Booker T spoke out in defence of Hulk, claiming he deserved a "second chance" and credited him with helping him and his brother Stevie Ray make it as tag team Harlem Heat in the now defunct company WCW (World Championship Wrestling).
When the pair were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, Stevie used his acceptance speech to also thank Hulk for using his backstage influence to get bosses to make them prominent stars on WCW’s flagship TV show ‘Monday Nitro’.
Hulk Hogan hopes his mistake won’t define him
