The WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea, the professional wrestler more widely known as Hulk Hogan, on Friday amid rumors that the star was recorded using racial slurs.
"WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan)," the company said in a statement to ESPN. "WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.”
All traces of Hulk Hogan were removed from the WWE's website as of Friday morning -- his individual page at wwe.com/superstars/hulkhogan said simply, "You are not authorized to access this page."
He was reportedly removed as a judge for WWE's reality TV show, Tough Enough, Sports Illustrated reported, and Hulk-related merchandise was nowhere to be found in its online store.
Hulk issued a cryptic tweet early Friday morning as rumors of a tape swirled. He said: "In the storm I release control, God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be, one love."
In the storm I release control,God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be,one love. HH— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) July 24, 2015
Tabloids RadarOnline and The National Enquirer reported early Friday morning on the existence of a tape where Hogan allegedly used racist slurs in describing his daughter's boyfriend and called himself "a racist."
“I guess we’re all a little racist," Hogan reportedly told the co-star of his sex tape, Heather Clem. “I don’t know if Brooke was fucking the black guy’s son. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, fucking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*t, and whatever.”
He then reportedly added: “I mean, I’d rather if she was going to fuck some n*gger, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n*gger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we’re all a little racist. Fucking n*gger.”
In a statement to People magazine, Hogan apologized for using "offensive language."
Wrestlers react
A number of WWE wrestlers tweeted their reactions to Hogan's alleged tape on Friday.
Booker T. Huffman, who is black, said he was "shocked by the statements made by Hulk Hogan."
It's 2015 and the n-word should be eradicated from the English language in my opinion.— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) July 24, 2015
I am shocked by the statements made by Hulk Hogan. It's unfortunate, but that's something that he's going to have to deal with.— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) July 24, 2015
Jim Ross said he was going to wait until the facts were out before passing judgment on his fellow Hall of Famer.
I don't know the details of the Hulk-WWE situation & choose to not comment until the facts are made public.— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 24, 2015
The wrestler MVP tweeted that the G1 Climax, a wrestling tournament being held in Japan, was more important.
G1 Climax > Hulk Hogan— MVP (@The305MVP) July 24, 2015
George "The Animal" Steele, after asking Twitter what had happened to Hogan, said, "Using common sense seems to be a lost art."
Using common sense seems to be a lost art.— George Steele (@georgesteele) July 24, 2015