Over a decade since posting a Sandy Hook conspiracy video, Ronda Rousey has made a public apology.
The 37-year-old former UFC star came under fire while participating in a Reddit AMA on August 20 when users of the platform criticized Rousey for sharing a video on X (then Twitter) which claimed the tragic 2012 mass shooting at a school in Sandy Hook was staged.
"Over a decade ago, you tweeted "I never meant to insult or hurt anyone, sorry if anyone was offended. It was not my intention in the least." after sharing a video that you called 'must-watch' and 'interesting' that had claimed the Sandy Hook School Massacre was part of a government conspiracy," commented one Redditor, continuing, "Considering 20 children were slaughtered and one was shot as many as 11 times, is it fair to say that you owe a much better public apology than the one you issued?"
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On Friday, August 23, Rousey took to X to address the backlash.
"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," the wrestler wrote.
"But 11 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 the 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," Rousey continued.
The fighter went on to explain that she considered making an apology in her memoir, Our Fight , but her publisher advised her not to do it.
"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 bulls*** 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."
In the comments, X users reacted to Rousey's lengthy post.
"I can respect this. Maturity and evolution. Never been a Ronda fan, but I can respect this. If you cannot hold yourself accountable, how can anybody expect to grow," wrote one person.
"Nothing shows true remorse like apologizing for something that no one even realized you did. This is so clearly heartfelt that it’s hard to imagine anyone questioning it. People make mistakes. You clearly did. You realized yours quickly and not because of backlash," commented a second fan.
Some were skeptical about Rousey's motivations, however.
"While it's good you're apologizing and this is a good apology as apologies go, it's clear you only did it because of the response to your Kickstarter advert in AMA form. Aka, when it affects your own pockets," wrote one commenter.
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