• Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan’s legacy continues to divide fans and celebrities following his death, with figures like Kevin Nash and Michael Rapaport defending him against critics revisiting his past racist remarks—while others, including O’Shea Jackson Jr., remain unforgiving in light of the leaked 2007 rant.

TAMPA, Fla. (TDR) — Hulk Hogan’s death has reignited a fierce debate over how legacies are remembered, particularly when tarnished by controversy. As tributes from wrestling legends pour in, so too does a steady drumbeat of backlash—fueled by resurfaced comments from Hogan’s 2007 racist tirade. The tension reached new levels after Kevin Nash and Michael Rapaport used their platforms to defend Hogan, urging fans and critics alike to let the man rest.

On the July 28 episode of Kliq This, a podcast hosted by former WWE wrestler and actor Kevin Nash, the 64-year-old icon made it plain that he had no patience for those criticizing Hogan after his death.

“For the people that want to go after Hogan for doing this, doing that, doing this — how about f-ck you, man?” Nash said bluntly. “He’s dead.”

Nash acknowledged Hogan’s missteps but argued that his family—his widow, Sky Daily, and his two children, Brooke and Nick Hogan—deserved respect and space to grieve without a public reckoning overshadowing their loss.

“Think about his friends and family. If you don't have nothing good to say, shut the f-ck up,” Nash continued. “It's sensationalism.”

That sentiment was echoed by actor and comedian Michael Rapaport, who weighed in during his own podcast, asserting that Hogan’s legacy, both as a pop culture juggernaut and wrestling pioneer, should not be undermined by past transgressions.

“We're not going to be disrespecting Hulk Hogan,” Rapaport declared. “I don’t care about his endorsing Trump. I don’t care about the stuff that was controversial… This dude had the 18-inch pythons and changed wrestling forever.”

But not everyone was willing to extend that kind of grace.

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Actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., son of Ice Cube, told Sway’s Universe that he was among those who booed Hogan during his surprise return to WWE in January 2025, where the Hall of Famer appeared to commemorate WWE’s $5 billion streaming deal with Netflix. The chorus of disapproval sent Hogan packing before he could deliver his speech.

“It’s just hard to forget how detailed that rant was,” Jackson said. “When you read the full transcript, there’s no ambiguity. It’s hate.”

The incident in question—recorded in 2007 and leaked in 2015—included Hogan expressing his anger over his daughter’s interracial dating choices in appallingly racist terms. WWE swiftly terminated its contract with the wrestler and removed him from its Hall of Fame. Though Hogan later issued an apology and was reinstated years later, the public response has remained split.

“This is not who I am,” Hogan said in a 2015 statement. “I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”

Despite the apology, his reappearance on WWE’s biggest stage in 2025 reignited the conversation. And with his death, the discourse has only intensified—highlighting a deep generational divide over forgiveness, accountability, and what it means to be a legend in America’s celebrity-industrial complex.

Hogan’s defenders argue that his cultural contributions—from WrestleMania to his 1980s global superstardom—warrant some latitude. His critics say those contributions can’t eclipse the undeniable harm caused by his racist outburst.

As the wrestling world mourns, it must also reckon. The question now: Can a legacy be honored without erasing the stain of the truth?

Can America ever truly separate a public icon’s personal failings from their professional accomplishments—or should it even try?

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