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Vince McMahon says Hulk Hogan "said some racist things" but "wasn't a racist".
The former WWE boss - who has given his first interview since resigning from the wrestling promotion's parent company TKO amid a lawsuit accusing him of sex trafficking and sexual assault - has reflected on the late world champion's 2015 scandal when he was heard using racist language in a leaked tape.
Speaking about why he brought Hogan back to WWE in 2018 after cutting ties with him over the footage, he told TMZ Presents: The Real Hulk Hogan: "I knew he wasn't a racist, I'd been with him for so many years.
"He wasn't a racist. He said some racist things, and he should pay for that, and he did.
"But in the end, I think that everyone saw the real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea and they felt: 'Wait a minute.
"'This guy, he doesn't act like a racist, he's not a racist.' We all make mistakes. That was a big one, but he wasn't a racist."
Hogan died on July 24 aged 71 following a cardiac arrest, which came 10 years to the day since WWE cut ties with him after the leak.
In the footage, he ranted about his daughter Brooke dating a Black man, and said: "I am racist, to a point" while using slurs.
McMahon, 79, recalled: "It was unforgivable and I was aghast, 'What happened?' When those things occurred, that's not like him. 'What in God's name is going on?'
"As soon as it happened, obviously, the company didn't have anything to do with him anymore. We took him out of the Hall of Fame. You just don't do those things."
Hogan's final WWE appearance came in January this year, when he was booed by fans, with many feeling he hadn't apologised enough for the racism storm.
McMahon said of the appearance: "It wasn't set up properly. I'm sure he was probably despondent after that.
"I was angry because we've known each other for a lifetime, professionally and personally. And setting up, so to speak, this larger than life superhero, you don't just let him walk out there.
"He deserved something very, very special. More than anyone, they owe him. It's just like, okay, here comes Hulk Hogan.
"I got angry because that's not the way I would have done it and he deserved much more."
Elsewhere in the interview, McMahon admitted he was shocked by Hogan's death.
He added: "You just don't think about someone, a family member or someone that close to you, you don't think about them passing away.
"Terry had kicked out, so to speak, of so many surgeries... and, you know, he overcame that.