Nothing beats a daughter’s love, especially when you’re embroiled in a racial scandal.
Brooke Hogan, the daughter of newly disgraced wrestler Hulk Hogan, has come to her father’s defense as he faces a professional and public-relations crisis sparked by his use of the N-word.
And she’s doing so in the best way possible: With a poem.
The younger Hogan took to Facebook on Friday to post a bit of heartfelt verse about her grappler dad, insisting that he’s a good man who’s brought joy to wrestling fans of all races.
The poem, titled “If You Knew My Father,” is published under Brooke’s birth name, Brooke Bollea, and begins, “If you knew the dad I knew, you’d know his tender heart/He’d never want to hurt his fans,or family from the start.”
It goes on to say, ” If you knew my father, you would know how hard he fought … and the way it brought a smile to people light, medium and dark.”
The younger Hogan goes on to say that her father has been burdened by fame’s spotlight, writing, “If you knew my father, if you just walked in his shoes … then you would know that microscope that comes with yellow boots.”
The elder Hogan was ditched by WWE on Friday, after audio emerged of the wrestler dropping repeated N-bombs. According to reports, Hogan uttered the epithet in the sex tape that’s at the center of his Gawker trial. He’s also heard using the slur repeatedly during a radio interview with DJ Whoo Kid in 2012.
Hogan has apologized for using the offensive word, saying in a statement, “This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise.”
Hogan added, “I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.”
Read Brooke Hogan’s full tribute here.