2013 WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley says he is cutting his ties with the promotion due to their relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Foley told WWE talent relations this week that he is done making appearances for the company while Trump remains in office, per a statement made on Instagram this Tuesday. Additionally, he plans not to re-sign with the company once his current Legends deal lapses in June.
Foley made the decision to part ways with WWE after Trump’s post regarding the death of actor Rob Reiner, who he said passed away due to “a mind crippling disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The comments have drawn significant criticism due to their offensive nature.
Here’s Foley’s full statement via Instagram:
While I have been concerned about WWE‘s close relationship with Donald Trump for several months — especially in light of his administration’s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants (and pretty much anyone who “looks like an immigrant”) — reading the President’s incredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner’s death is the final straw for me.
I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy. Last night, I informed @WWE talent relations that I would not be making any appearances for the company as long as this man remains in office.
Additionally, I will not be signing a new Legends deal when my current one expires in June. I love WWE, will always treasure my time with them, and I am deeply appreciative for all the opportunities they afforded me. But, in the words of Popeye the sailor, “I stands all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more.”
WWE, as well as its parent company TKO Group Holdings, has a documented relationship with Trump and his current administration. Many credit TKO’s UFC as helping elevate Trump during his 2024 U.S. Presidential Election campaign, providing him with major spotlights during some of the company’s biggest shows last year.
WWE’s Paul Levesque appeared at the White House last summer and stood alongside Trump as part of a press conference to announce that the Presidential Fitness Test was being reinstated. Levesque said in August that Trump is “one of the most intuitive people I think that I’ve ever met.”
Linda McMahon, a former WWE executive, is currently Trump’s Secretary of Education.
