Famed professional wrestler Hulk Hogan has found himself at the center of controversy after making inflammatory remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris during a promotional event for his new beer. While promoting his brand at the Thirsty Cowboy bar in Medina, Ohio, Hogan, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, grabbed the microphone and directed a series of offensive comments towards Harris, asking the crowd, “Want me to body-slam Kamala Harris? Want me to drop the leg (referring to his famous wrestling move) on Kamala?” He then went on to question Harris’s ethnicity, asking, “Is Kamala a chameleon? Is Kamala Indian?”
Hogan attempted to deflect the severity of his remarks, claiming, “I’m going to get heat for that one, brother. That wasn’t me; that was the beers talking.” However, the viral video of his comments has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with users condemning Hogan’s behavior and questioning his intentions.
“Shame on Hulk, he sure has fallen as a man. He used to be respected,” one user wrote. Others echoed similar sentiments, with one user stating, “How is that not treated as a threat against the sitting Vice President? I have nothing to say about the racism because he has always been a racist!” Another user questioned, “Isn’t this inciting violence of a sitting Vice President?”
These comments highlight a growing concern about the potential for violence and intimidation directed towards elected officials, particularly women of color.
Hogan’s comments about Kamala Harris’s ethnic identity come after a pattern of similar attacks by former President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly targeted Harris’s background, questioning her heritage and making baseless accusations about her identity. In a recent interview, Trump stated, “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?”
Trump’s comments, along with Hogan’s recent remarks, represent a disturbing trend of using racist and inflammatory rhetoric to attack and delegitimize political figures. Such actions not only undermine the democratic process but also contribute to a climate of fear and division within society.
