Ronda Rousey Apologizes for Sharing Sandy Hook Shooting Conspiracy Video 11 Years Ago: ‘I Was Ignorant’ and ‘Deserve to Be Hated and Detested’
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/ronda-rousey-apologizes-sandy-hook-conspiracy-video-canceled-1236116427/
43 comments
Rousey:
>I can’t say how many times I’ve redrafted this apology over the last 11 years. How many times I’ve convinced myself it wasn’t the right time or that I’d be causing even more damage by giving it. But eleven years ago I made the single most regrettable decision of my life.
>I watched a Sandy Hook conspiracy video and reposted it on twitter. I didn’t even believe it, but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was done.
>By some miracle it seemingly slipped under the media’s radar, I was never asked about it so I never spoke of it again, afraid that calling attention to it would have then opposite of the intended effect – it could increase the views of those conspiracy videos, and selfishly, inform even more people I was ignorant, self absorbed, and tone deaf enough to share one in the first place.
>I drafted a thousandth apology to include in my last memoir, but my publisher begged me to take it out, saying it would overshadow everything else and do more harm than good. So I convinced myself that apologizing would just reopen the wound for no other reason than me selfishly trying to make myself feel better, that I would hurt those suffering even more and possibly lead more people down the black hole of conspiracy bullshit by it being brought up again just so I could try to shake the label of being a “Sandy Hook truther”.
>But honestly I deserve to be hated, labeled,detested, resented and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do. I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused.
>I can’t even begin to imagine the pain you’ve endured and words cannot describe how thoroughly remorseful and ashamed I am of myself for contributing to it. I’ve regretted it every day of my life since and will continue to do so until the day I die. And to anyone else that’s fallen down the black hole of bullshit. It doesn’t make you edgy, or an independent thinker, you’re not doing your due diligence entertaining every possibility by digesting these conspiracies.
>They will only make you feel powerless, afraid, miserable and isolated. You’re doing nothing but hurting others and yourself. Regardless of how many bridges you’ve burned over it, stop digging yourself a deeper hole, don’t get wrapped up in the sunk cost fallacy, no matter how long you’ve gone down the wrong road, you should still turn back.
She most likely did this due to her botched Reddit AMA
Crazy part of the apology is that it was an AMA on r/SquaredCircle brought all of this back into the spotlight.
[Link to the AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1ewyxxv/im_ronda_rousey_ama/)
As far as apologies go that’s about as good as you could do. You never know what someone else really thinks but this comes across as genuine.
Once you are in the conspiracy vortex it is so incredibly difficult to pull yourself out. I know it was goddamned difficult for me and I was still just at the edge of the vortex. I have so much respect for anyone who can recognize it and pull themselves out.
*Sigh*… fine, I forgive her.
She must have seen the documentary.
Hey look, someone apologized and commented thoughtfully. Much easier than doubling down and looking even more moronic.
Feels genuine. Hopefully it is and she learns not to hang around in conspiracy circles.
We’re in an age where our emotional reaction is so quick and has an immediate outlet. This isn’t news to anyone. I think most of us can relate to putting something up on social media and then taking it down after your brain has cooled down a little.
Nobody has to accept this apology. Maybe she is being disingenuous. There’s no way to no, and I think trying to apply thumbscrews to people–famous or otherwise–isn’t helping anyone except to make some of us feel cathartic for causing another person to feel bad.
Ultimately it’s up to the individual whether or not they accept an apology. I believe Ronda is being sincere. She’s always struck me as a decent sort.
I deserve to be hated and detested, just please don’t sue me as bad as Alex Jones
If you don’t look back and cringe at some of your old beliefs, you most likely haven’t grown as a person.
She certainly means it. Forgiven
Ok Ronda. If you really want people to believe you, how about you get active with Sandy Hook and other families affected by mass shootings. Here’s your chance to do something instead of talking
Great and sincere seeming apology. Lowkey, should do AMA again now, lol
This is actually a really great apology and comes across as sincere. I genuinely hope she’s learned and grown.
She doesn’t deserve to be hated and detested. She realised that what she did was wrong and apologised. Sure, what she did originally was wrong but owning up to it should be applauded. Let people grow after they make mistakes.
Come on those conspiracies were bullshit. It takes a real dumbass to even give them any time.
Glad to see it. I hope it gives the victims/families involved some peace.
I forgive her.
That was one of the most humble yet brutal-to-self apologies I’ve ever read.
What made her even think that it was fake? Seriously?
Fair enough. Whoever didn’t say something ridiculously stupid and hurtful a decade ago should throw the first stone.
This outlook that once you do something shitty that’s who you always are and you can never change or grow as a person is so stupid. If someone has a pattern of consistently doing horrible things that continues to this very day, for sure condemn them. If someone did one or two bad things a decade ago and have since owned up to it, I think it’s time to move on.
You are correct
11 years. Can’t we let people change and grow? Is that a bad take?
I never knew she promoted Sandy Hook Conspiracy theories but good to see her truly taking some accountability unlike Alex Jones!!
Every one of us has made some statement or held some belief, even momentarily that was bullshit.
Very smart people craft these “alternate truths” and they are designed to suck us in on an emotional level before we get our pesky logic involved. It’s how most scams work. If we don’t allow people to say sorry and grow as people we are just as bad as the intolerant that never apologize or see the light.
Good on her for the heartfelt apology and she is a good role model for the rest of us admiting and living up to our mistakes.
The ability to change your mind and perspective shows strength as a person.
People can grow and learn. With rare exceptions, I concur with Pete Buttegieg’s words earlier this week: “My faith teaches me that the world isn’t made up of good people and bad people. But rather that each of us is capable of good and bad things.”
Rousey did a shitty thing and owned up to it. Can she go even further, to be an advocate for good things and not merely avoid bad things? We’ll see.
Yes she does deserve to be hated
Why did people believe that was a hoax, as if it doesn’t happen way too often, unfortunately. The way people wanted so badly to frame this shooting as a lie was disgusting and unhinged. They claim they don’t want to politicize school shootings but that’s the first thing they do. They don’t care about victims.
Good.
People need to be allowed to grow so long as they show sincerity with their past mistakes and it seems like she does.
Good for her. Stand up apology.
The apology only can after a failed AMA
PR team apologized not her
Big balls coming out with an admission like this. It’s so rare for people to admit to errors nowadays.
Ain’t that a kick in the head?
Atleast she owned up to it instead of spinning it
It interests me so much when people don’t accept apologies like this. She said stupid shit that hurt people and apologised. Now we we going to hear it was not fast enough. It was not enough words, it was too many words, it did not include (place word here), she did not address this or that. Nothing would be good enough for many, because really they just enjoy the bullying and revelling in their hatred. They need to have people to hate and when that starts to slip away they find anyway they can to hold on.
What I’d like to see is her working hard not to be hated and detested. I don’t feel strongly one way or another about her, but I sure will if her apology turns out to be just words. Words don’t matter, actions do.
I didn’t know anything about this. What was she trying to accomplish with a conspiracy video? Like what was the endgame?
That’s a Grade A apology. Fair play
Takes real character and integrity to admit that. Good stuff.
One thing in particular I appreciate about her statement, her warning directed towards people who are in conspiracy bubbles.
If only she would have apologized 11 years ago.