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Aussie WWE star causes anger with shocking homophobic slur

Australian WWE star Rhea Ripley has been forced to apologise after insulting a fan with a shocking homophobic slur.

The 22-year-old from Adelaide, the inaugural NXT UK women’s champion, was taking part in an online Q&A with fans when things went wrong.

The Q&A was designed for fans to be insulted in either Australian or Spanish slang, but Ripley (real name Demi Bennett) overstepped the mark by calling one fan a “stupid motherf***ing f****t”.

Rhea Ripley. Image: WWE/Twitter
Rhea Ripley. Image: WWE/Twitter

That remark prompted a backlash on social media.

‘Dearly sorry’

Ripley later apologised, blaming her ‘brain to mouth filter’.

“I know a lot of you are upset with me after tonight, but I just wanted to publically [sic] say that I am sorry,” she wrote on Twitter.

“My brain to mouth filter came down for a second and I forgot that some words are a big no no to a lot of people.

“I am a firm believer that everyone should be treated equally, whether that be race or sexual orientation.

“With that said, I just wanted to say how dearly sorry I am to everyone that was offended by my choice of words tonight.”

Upcoming star

Ripley has made a rapid rise through the professional wrestling ranks after starting Down Under in Melbourne City Wrestling in 2014.

In 2018 she defeated Kiwi-born Australian Toni Storm to become the first NXT UK women’s champion, a tier below the main WWE roster for up-and-comers.

She then debuted on the main roster in the inaugural all-women’s Royal Rumble a few weeks later.

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#NXTFullSail tonight!

A post shared by NXT Superstar, Aussie, 22 (@rhearipley_wwe) on Apr 11, 2018 at 12:00pm PDT