Hulk Hogan WWE
Hulk Hogan continues to retweet his supporters on Twitter. Getty

There has been a mixed reaction in response to the latest controversy surrounding legendary WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan. The 61-year-old has received his share of support from fans and former WWE superstars, but he’s been publicly shamed after a transcript of him using racial slurs was leaked on Friday morning.

Soon after WWE publicly announced that they released Hogan from his contract, he apologized for his actions in a statement to People.com. A few black wrestlers who currently work for WWE expressed their disappointment in learning of Hogan’s remarks.

Hogan became WWE’s top star in the 1980s, and he helped WCW become the country’s top wrestling promotion a decade later as a member of the NWO. Former wrestlers like Mick Foley and Virgil have used Twitter to show their support for the pop culture icon.

Hogan has not been quiet since he made headlines on Friday, remaining active on Twitter and contending that he is not a racist. But in his attempt to prove that he has support from fans, Hogan has only made himself look foolish.

While Hogan has retweeted fans who are genuinely showing their support for the wrestler, he’s also been tricked by several people who are having fun at his expense. Some Twitter users have sent Hogan supportive messages with pictures of black soccer players and other celebrities, pretending to be the people in the photographs. Hogan has retweeted some of those messages, not knowing that the Twitter users were lying.

As Hogan attempts to restore his name in the eye of the public, WWE is further distancing themselves from the wrestler that carried the company 30 years ago. WWE removed Hogan from wwe.com and stopped selling his merchandise on Friday, and they have since removed NWO merchandise from WWEShop.com.