Tessa Blanchard took to social media on Friday night to deny lingering accusations of racism and to urge people to “move on.”
Responding to a string of replies on X that referenced past accusations of racist behavior, Blanchard wrote:
I’m not perfect, made plenty of mistakes in my life.. racism is not one of them nor has that ever been in my heart. An incident from 10 years ago has continuously gotten twisted into something that race had absolutely nothing to do with because of the social climate. I’m tired of being used as click bait. Move on.
The incident to which she was referring first came to light when Allysin Kay responded to a since-deleted tweet from Blanchard in 2020, calling for women to support each other.
In Kay’s response, she wrote: “Remember when you spat in a black woman’s face and called her the N-word in Japan? Was that you “supporting women”? The AUDACITY of this tweet”
This version of events was corroborated by Chelsea Green and Rebel.
The incident in question involved wrestler La Rosa Negra, who herself stated in a now-deleted tweet that the incident occurred in 2017.
In an interview with Women’s Wrestling Talk in 2021, Negra noted that while she had forgiven Blanchard for her own peace of mind, the details of the incident and slur were accurate.
In an interview with Contralona in 2023, Blanchard discussed a meeting with La Rosa Negra where they allegedly “made amends.” She described the encounter as a moment of forgiveness.
However, the allegations have persistently followed Blanchard’s career, with chants of “She’s a racist” being commonplace when she performs.
Blanchard, meanwhile, flatly denies ever having been a racist, responding to another reply on X by saying:
Nope. Never have been. Let’s move the hell on.
