A renowned fitness influencer and bodybuilder was chased off social media over the vitriol he received for his tribute to Hulk Hogan following the WWE legend’s death.
Joey Swoll, the 42-year-old “CEO of Gym Positivity,” declared Monday that he was “done” with his online platforms as he apologized for dressing up as the mustachioed wrestling icon, which he claimed was a gift from Hogan himself.
“I owe my followers, my community and all of social media an apology,” Swoll told his 8 million followers in a recorded message from the front seat of his car.
Swoll had paid tribute to the late Hogan in a now-deleted video in which he wore a Halloween costume resembling the famed wrestler during a workout at Gold’s Gym in Venice, Calif.
Hogan, born Terry Bollea, died at the age of 71 on July 24 after suffering a “serious medical issue” at his Clearwater, Florida home.
Swoll was known for making videos where he outed “gym bullies” and held them accountable for the way they treated others on a mission to create a positive gym environment.
The social media influencer said he faced backlash from upset followers during a livestream a day after posting the tribute.
“I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t hold myself to the same standards. I am human, I am still growing and learning and I promise to all of you I will do better,” he said. “I have nothing but love and kindness in my heart, I will continue to try and make the world a better place.”
Swoll, whose real name is Joey Sergo, then returned to social media on Tuesday to say he was “done” and that “people just wait for a reason to hate you.”
“All the good I’ve done, all the people I’ve helped, all for nothing. I truly hope all the people I’ve inspired do great things in their life and pay it forward to help others and carry on my message,” Swoll wrote on X. “But no matter how much good you do, people just wait for a reason to hate you and tear you down. You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the villain. Thank you for your support. I am done.”
“Instead of listening and understanding like I should’ve, I became defensive and said ‘I was posting to celebrate the wrestling icon, the person so many of us looked up to as kids that we grew up with. That made us tear off our shirts and take our vitamins and say our prayers,’” Swoll said.
Swoll had often recycled the workout video dressed as Hogan. In October 2020, he posted the same clip as Hogan’s “Real American” theme song served as the background music.
Swoll claims he was unaware of the extent of Hogan’s scandals and later researched the wrestler.
“Since last night I have done a lot of research and learned all of the horrible, horrible things that man has done, which is way more than just making a mistake and being human,” Swoll said.
The WWE star was fired from the company in 2015 when video resurfaced of him using racial slurs in 2007.
Hogan admitted to steroid use during his early professional career and was caught in a sex-tape scandal with the wife of his former friend, Bubba the Love Sponge.
A clip from the video was published by gossip blog Gawker and Hogan sued the company, settling for $31 million and the site’s eventual demise.
Swoll removed the Hogan tribute from all his social accounts and apologized.
“To anyone that I offended, I am sorry,” he said.
Swoll said he was met with backlash again, moments later, when he used the word “colored” instead of the term “person of color” during the livestream.
“It is a very outdated, very offensive term. Someone educated me and told me that it wasn’t ok to use that, which I immediately apologized to everyone and said ‘I would never do that again,’” he added.
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