Gossip and the Destruction of Careers
In many cases, gossip is a way to bond with a colleague, expressing that sharing information or rumors is normal and expected. But how far should one go before it becomes cruelly destructive?
Gossip as an industry has continually grown in the past two decades. The power of words to ruin someone’s life through years of hard work has become alarmingly evident - even in the wake of celebrity deaths. Gossip has always been a risky game but little did we know just how much it could affect our careers until we heard about what happened to so many people in Hollywood.
In the 1990's, Paula Abdul, Yoko Ono and Madonna were quick to name some of their biggest enemies in the press. But then came the turn of 1990s professional wrestler Hulk Hogan to be a victim of this malicious gossip. Amidst allegations that he had worn female undergarments and exposed himself to his employees, Hogan began to feel that his life was falling apart.
Hogan had spent years promoting fitness and fitness apparel with General Mills and became one of the most famous faces in fitness. A career as a fitness advocate was once thought to be a promising option but what we ended up losing was something much more valuable than fame - it was our potential future jobs in Hollywood.
Hulk Hogan was hardly ever on television in the 1980s. He was a champion wrestler, trained by the WWE, who brought his talents to professional wrestling. But before he could make it to Hollywood or even be in a film, Hogan had to end up on wrestling television with superstars like Mr. T and Muhammad Ali. With his wrestling career going well, the options were endless for Hogan - outside of the ring he starred in commercials and commercials for cereal brands from Cheerios to Cap'n Crunch.
Hogan experienced an up and down career in the 80s, but this was short-lived. He rose to prominence in the late 90s and early 2000's, mostly for his work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). His TNA contract ended in 2006 and Hogan was said to be unhappy with his career choices – he wanted to do movies and didn’t want to stay in wrestling. He was looking for reinvention as a Hollywood star.
The Hulkster returned from a brief retirement in 2007 and signed a new contract with WWE. On October 5, 2011, however, Hogan revealed he had been fired by WWE on account of racist dialogue he had during the aforementioned interview years prior.
An article on the same day of his firing displayed the following: “Hulk Hogan's termination has been caused by an in-ring promo where he stated that 'If you want to call me a racist, fine. But if I say 'f----t' you might want to be careful because you might not like what I might say.'” (Cinemablend). The WWE would later state that this wasn’t their reason for termination but it is true that they appreciated the comments made by Hulk Hogan on the radio interview and held him responsible for them.
On air, Hogan lost nearly everything but was able to save his relationship with his daughter Brooke. His former employer, The WWE has continued to promote their relationship, proving the value of their brand as well as an opportunity for Hogan to broker a return to the company once he “learns from his mistakes”.
As for Hulk Hogan, he was never able to redeem himself in Hollywood. After an incident where he was again recorded using racial slurs, his reputation was beyond repair. He’s had minor roles since with the likes of Stanley Tucci but his future in Hollywood is over. There are many who believe that the multitudes of jobs that Hulk Hogan could have made it big or even just medium big - but it wasn't meant to be.
In many ways, this is worse than death. The death of a celebrity can be mourned by friends and family, but there is nothing to be done. But now we have a jobless Hulk Hogan who has lost his livelihood, but he doesn’t need the comeback that he could have had.
Hulk Hogan wasn't the only one to lose his job over some colorful language. There are many actors and actresses who have been fired for using racial slurs, even on the set of a film. Most notably, Harry Caray was fired from his role as the Chicago White Sox announcer after using a racial slur on ESPN during an interview. After the sports announcer used the n-word in an off-hand comment he said “but that is not a racist term”.
Caray was fired shortly after and his career as a sports commentator never recovered. He went on to apologize in various ways but it was too late - years later, in January 1998, Harry Caray died of heart failure at the age of 78 at his home in Northbrook, Illinois.
So now, a sports announcer who had a promising career as a sports commentator is dead, and this is due to one slip of the tongue. There have been many cases where the phrase “nigger” has been heard during interviews, but this was something different – it was on television. Caray flipped from being a successful sportscaster to working at WXRT-FM in Chicago as an occasional sportscaster for The White Sox Radio Network. The firing came about after he used the “n” word in a live broadcast which aired on November 27th of 1993. Caray was fired on December 10th.
Hulk Hogan is gone and his career can never be revived. Meanwhile, Harry Caray is dead, a man whose livelihood came to an end the moment he uttered “nigger”. There is no action that could be taken which would make it right, but neither were the words said racist – Hulk Hogan wasn’t racist and Harry Caray wasn’t a racist but they were both fired nonetheless.
During the live broadcast, Harry Caray was on the phone with then White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler and commented on the potential signing of free agent player Bo Jackson. The story goes that Schueler told him it would be “a waste of money” because Jackson was “throwing to niggers”. When Harry Caray repeated what Schueler said, he also made a comment that they were “niggers wearing white socks”.
The use of the n-word by an African-American sports announcer would have been understandable, but it wasn't just a black man using this word but also a white man using this word as well.
Conclusion
We have learned that there are many cases where the n-word is used by black people against other black people, as well as white people using this word. It is not to say that these aren’t racist but it does point out that the word nigger isn’t only a racial term, it can be racially motivated or it can be used in a general manner. The use of this word throughout history has been troubling and most likely will continue to be troubling - and the use of this word by anyone - even white people, needs to stop.
There is no easy solution for eradicating this word from popular culture because it is so deeply rooted in our history.