From Hulk Hogan to Hot Sauce: The Hypocrisy of Speech Policing Without Action
- richardgraves7
- Jul 25
- 3 min read
By: Richard Graves, MA American History, 07/25/2025
I see a lot of in the “blue no matter who” crew quick to label Hulk Hogan a racist—and yes, given what he said, it’s perfectly reasonable to call it out. I wasn’t a fan. He said the n‑word in a leaked tape in 2015, and WWE suspended and erased him from the Hall of Fame (later reinstating him) as a consequence (People, 2025; Newsweek, 2025). So yeah—sure, he probably was racist in that instance, and it’s fair to judge him for that.
But here’s what fascinates me: these folks are great at calling out when someone says a racist thing, and lose their minds over that. Rightfully so. But these are the same people who often also uncritically embrace people who do racism in practice—people whose actions harm Black communities—because they perform allyship every four years, flash some hot sauce (metaphorically and literally), and declare themselves “allies.” This is obviously performative, superficial, and sometimes actively damaging.
Scholars have dissected this dynamic. Performative allyship—where people or organizations perform solidarity for praise or optics but don’t take concrete action. This can be and often is harmful, especially as it replaces or undermines meaningful support (Kalina, 2020; Keys-Kukoricza, 2023). Symbolic gestures often alleviate guilt or boost social capital without furthering positive, actionable public policy. (Diaz, 2022)
In Hogan’s case, criticism of his words is immediate and public. But how often do these people critique structural harm—politicians, corporations, public figures—who enact policies or behaviors that cause real damage to Black lives, yet pivot to virtue signaling around election time? The anger stops when their sound bite ends, but Black communities continue to feel consequences.
I'm not diminishing Hogan’s racist remarks—far from it. He used explicit slurs and those remarks led to tangible consequences (People, 2025; Newsweek, 2025). My point is that we privilege speech policing and symbolic offense—but we let performative actors who perpetuate racist systems slide, because they show up occasionally with a token gesture and say "I’m with you."
That’s the contradiction I find so fascinating. We champion those quick to call out racism verbally, but we fail to challenge those whose actions have systemic implications. Real allyship isn’t just renouncing offensive words—it’s sustained commitment. accountability, and genuine solidarity (Allyship scholarship, 2024)
In short: Hogan said something racist and many called him out—that’s nice. But the bigger issue: we don’t treat as harshly those who live out racism through policy and neglect—even while dressing themselves up in election‑cycle allyship. That performative optics all too often take precedence over real, positive, actionable public policy.
Works Cited:
Dos Diaz, A. (2022, February 14). From informative to performative: When social media becomes problematic. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/when-social-media-becomes-problematic-5215859
Kalina, P. (2020). Performative allyship. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 11, 478–481. http://dx.doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v11i1.1518
Keys-Kukoricza, Salena, "Examining the Motives Behind Performative Allyship" (2023). University Honors
Theses. Paper 1319.
Ernst-Kosek, E., Ladge, J., Little, L.M., Lewin-Loyd, L, Smith, A.N., & Tinsley, C. H. (2024). Introduction to the special issue: Allyship, advocacy, and social justice to support equality for marginalized groups in the workplace. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Science Direct, 183 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2024.104336
Lazarus Caplan, A. (2025, July 24). Inside Hulk Hogan’s scandals and controversies: Racist rant, family drama and more. People. https://people.com/inside-hulk-hogan-scandals-controversies-sex-tape-racist-rant-family-drama-11778716
Hulk Hogan racism scandal that marred his WWE career. (2025). Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/hulk-hogan-dead-controversy-racist-scandal-wwe-2103674
