News Digest

WWE cuts ties with Hulk Hogan amid report that he used slurs

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has severed ties with Hulk Hogan amid a report that one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history used racial slurs in a conversation caught on a sex tape. The company deleted most references to Hogan on its website and issued a statement Friday saying it had terminated its contract with him. WWE did not give a reason but issued a statement saying it is “committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide." On Friday, a joint report from RadarOnline.com and the National Enquirer said that Hogan had used racial slurs in a conversation caught on a sex video that is the subject of an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit.

It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language. There is no excuse for it, and I apologize for having done it.

Hogan said, calling his departure from a WWE a resignation

In a statement, the 61-year-old Hogan apologized for using "offensive language” in a conversation eight years ago. Hogan, perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s five-decade history, was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years in its signature event, facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to the Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon. Hogan was able to transcend his “Hulkamania” fan base to become a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a VH1 reality show about his life, “Hogan Knows Best.”