Posted in: AEW, Comics, Sports, TV | Tagged: ronda rousey, wrestling
Former UFC and WWE champion Ronda Rousey issues long-awaited apology for sharing Sandy Hook conspiracy theories amid comic book promotion backlash.
Ronda Rousey, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion, has finally addressed a long-standing controversy surrounding her sharing of Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. The multi-time champion and Olympic medalist issued a public apology this week for her actions dating back to 2013, when she posted a video questioning the veracity of the tragic school shooting that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut.
The controversy initially erupted when Rousey, a month after the devastating incident, shared a conspiracy theory video on her social media platforms. At the time, she responded to criticism by stating, “Asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told.” This response did little to quell the growing backlash against her actions.
For years, Rousey largely avoided calls to address the ongoing online criticism about the incident, particularly during her tenure with WWE, where she was insulated by the company’s public relations machine. However, recent promotional activities for her new comic book project have brought the issue back into the spotlight.
Rousey has been collaborating with artist Mike Deodato on a graphic novel titled “Expecting the Unexpected,” published by Artists, Writers, and Artisans (AWA). The successfully crowdfunded project on Kickstarter describes the plot as following “a newly pregnant mom with a bounty on her head as she fights off waves of assassins.”
As part of the promotional efforts for the comic, Rousey attempted to host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on the popular social media platform Reddit. During this online event, she was confronted with multiple questions regarding the Sandy Hook conspiracy theory controversy to the point where the questions and reactions to them were upvoted and dominated the entire AMA, forcing Rousey to answer comic book and wrestling related questions far further down the page while redditors remarked on her ignoring the ones about Sandy Hook. It seems likely that this renewed focus on the issue prompted Rousey to finally address the matter head-on.
In response to the mounting pressure, Rousey released a comprehensive statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) today. In her statement, Rousey expressed remorse for her past actions and sought to clarify her current stance on the matter.
“I want to address something from my past that has rightfully upset many people,” Rousey began in her statement. She went on to acknowledge the pain caused by her previous actions, stating, “Back in 2013, I shared a video questioning the events at Sandy Hook. I was wrong to do this, and I deeply regret my actions.”
Rousey continued by explaining her thought process at the time, emphasizing that she now understands the harm caused by spreading such conspiracy theories. “At the time, I foolishly believed that asking questions was a way to get to the truth. I now realize that sharing these kinds of conspiracy theories causes real pain to victims and their families, and it was irresponsible of me to amplify these ideas.”
The former champion also addressed her initial response to criticism, admitting that her defensive stance was misguided. “My response back then about ‘asking questions’ being patriotic was misguided and wrong. I now understand that there are responsible ways to seek truth and irresponsible ways that can cause harm.”
Rousey concluded her statement with a direct apology to those affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy and a commitment to do better in the future. “I want to apologize unreservedly to the victims, their families, and anyone else hurt by my actions. I will strive to be more responsible with the platform I have and to use it to spread positivity and truth.”
This public apology marks a significant shift in Rousey’s stance on the controversy, which has followed her career for over a decade. It remains to be seen how this statement will be received by the public and whether it will impact the reception of her new comic book project.
Readers interested in reviewing Ronda Rousey’s complete statement can read it in full below.
I can’t say how many times l’ve redrafted this apology over the last 11 years. How many times I’ve convinced myself it wasn’t the right time or that l’d be causing even more damage by giving it. But eleven years ago I made the single most regrettable decision of my life. I watched a Sandy Hook conspiracy video and reposted it on twitter. I didn’t even believe it, but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was done.
By some miracle it seemingly slipped under the media’s radar, I was never asked about it so I never spoke of it again, afraid that calling attention to it would have the opposite of the intended effect – it could increase the views of those conspiracy videos, and selfishly, inform even more people was ignorant, self absorbed, and tone deaf enough to share one in the first place.
I drafted a thousandth apology to include in my last memoir, but my publisher begged me to take it out, saying it would overshadow everything else and do more harm than good.
So l convinced myself that apologizing would just reopen the wound for no other reason than me selfishly trying to make myself feel better, that I would hurt those suffering even more and possibly lead more people down the black hole of conspiracy bullshit by it being brought up again just so l could try to shake the label of being a “Sandy Hook truther”. But honestly I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do.
I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain you’ve endured and words cannot describe how thoroughly remorseful and ashamed I am of myself for contributing to it. I’ve regretted it every day of my life since and will continue to do so until the day I die.
And to anyone else that’s fallen down the black hole of bullshit. It doesn’t make you edgy, or an independent thinker, you’re not doing your due diligence entertaining every possibility by digesting these conspiracies. They will only make you feel powerless, afraid, miserable and isolated. You’re doing nothing but hurting others and yourself.
Regardless of how many bridges you’ve burned over it, stop digging yourself a deeper hole, don’t get wrapped up in the sunk cost fallacy, no matter how long you’ve gone down the wrong road, you should still turn back.
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