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Hulk Hogan was a wrestling icon and a larger-than-life figure who became a pop culture phenomenon.
But after his shocking death just weeks ago, he leaves behind a complicated legacy that includes his estrangement from his daughter Brooke.
TMZ senior producer Michael Babcock talks to “Extra” about the new special “TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan,” airing tonight on FOX and streaming tomorrow on Hulu, which takes a new look at Hulk’s life beyond the mat.
He said of Brooke skipping Hulk’s funeral, “She says, ‘Look, I didn’t go because my dad wouldn’t have wanted a a funeral. He thought they were very morbid’ and she said, ‘I went to that same beach we used to hang out together, and I sort of had a moment of reflection about my father’s passing there by myself.'”
The special features interviews with friends like Hulk’s “Rocky 3” co-star Sylvester Stallone.
Babcock pointed out, “They’ve maintained a friendship for, you know, 40, 50 years.”
It’s also full of WWE stars like Vince McMahon and Mark Henry, who try to give the full picture of Hulk, including the blowback from his 2015 racism scandal when he was recorded using offensive language.
In a clip from the special, Mark says, “He said in his words that he was a racist. So why would I sit here and try to defend somebody that tells you who they were?”
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Babcock told us, “To see the pain all these years later on Mark Henry’s face and in his voice when he talks about Hulk in that video where he was obviously heard saying the N-word and how it changed how Mark Henry felt about Hulk Hogan, I think it’s a feeling that a lot of Hulk Hogan fans had.”
The scandal divided wrestling fans. At his final show at WWE Raw in January, just a half year before his death, he was met with boos.
Babcock added that he was “an imperfect man who blew up the sport of professional wrestling… bigger than anybody ever could have expected.”
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