I’ll start by prefacing this post with the standard reminder that I am not a political person and I do not ever intend to express my political or religious beliefs to you, the reader. I believe that we only have a short time here on this crazy little planet called Earth, and we should spend our time focused on more important things like making Brittney Palmer fall in love with me. That said, I’m worried the WWE may be responsible for our next Civil War.
As you wrasslin’ fans are all well aware, Jack Swagger is back with his “Real American” gimmick, and he has been joined by a manager named Zeb Colter. They are clearly playing on the idea that people who belong to the Tea Party are a wee bit eccentric. It also certainly doesn’t help that immigration is an endlessly hot topic and Swagger is wrestling Mexican star Alberto Del Rio at Wrestlemania.
Despite the fact that the WWE has famously mocked many races, religions, genders and politics in the past, this gimmick is apparently the straw that broke the horse’s back. Why a horse? Ain’t no camels in the Constitution, that’s why.
For starters, the folks at MediaIte have a small sample of some outraged Twitter users who are furious that the Tea Party angle is being used on a heel. It is, of course, worth pointing out that Linda McMahon ran for Congress as a Republican and she essentially wasted millions of dollars because she lost. So there’s a possibility she’s a little bitter over the Tea Party for a lack of support. I’m not saying that’s true, I’m just speculating. So take your anger to the Twitters like these folks.
You can also read various claims of rage and anger here, here and here (read the comments if you’re feeling ballsy). Hell, some people – myself included – are more pissed that the angle is so unoriginal. Nevertheless, sour grapes and angry fans mean the WWE had to issue an apology, and Vince and Co. have done just that:
“WWE has a long history of creating fictional characters that serve as either protagonists or antagonists, no different than other television shows or feature films. To create compelling and relevant content for our audience, it is important to incorporate current events into our storylines.”
“WWE is creating drama centered on a topical subject that has varying points of view to develop a rivalry between two characters,” he adds. “This storyline in no way represents WWE’s political point of view. One should not confuse WWE’s storytelling with what WWE stands for, similar to other entertainment companies such as Warner Bros., Universal Studios or Viacom.”
I guess, to be clear, this is apparently offensive:
But this is fine:
I just want to make sure that I’m understanding the complaints properly.
