10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Rhea Ripley
1. Using A Slur On A Livestream
Demi Bennett was quick to post a public and detailed apology for the use of a slur on a live stream in 2019, and it's absolutely worth highlighting that just as much as the incident itself.
Her thoughtless and deeply insensitive indiscretion was an unfortunate moment of madness in the nascent career of Rhea Ripley, and the understandable backlash she received from LGBTQIA+ fans as well as the disappointed wrestling fanbase at large called for her to share not just said apology but also an understanding of why in particular the utterance had been so hurtful.
Ripley wasn't the first and sadly won't be the last from pro wrestling in such a situation, but did at least move to own all of it and attempt to heal wounds in the aftermath. Her addressing it head-on seemed to result in hostilities dying down, and at a bare minimum made clear how committed she was to understanding where and why she'd gone wrong.