Brooke Hogan is clapping back at people online who she says blasted her for missing recent WWE tributes to her late father, pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
Hulk Hogan died July 24 at age 71 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was honored at WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” on July 25 and again during “Monday Night RAW.”
His son, Nick Hogan, 35, stood center stage during the July 28 tribute and 10-bell salute.
Brooke Hogan, 37, who had been estranged from her dad, addressed her absence from the events in a post to her Instagram story July 30.
“For those of you giving me crap for not attending my Dad’s tributes, @wwe did not extend an invite,” Brooke Hogan said.
TODAY.com has reached out to WWE for comment.
A few days after her father’s death, Brooke Hogan opened up about their complicated relationship in an emotional tribute July 29 on Instagram.
“My dad’s blood runs through my veins. His eyes shine through my children. And our bond has never broken, not even in his final moments,” she wrote.
“We had a connection deeper than words, one that spanned lifetimes. I am so grateful I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens,” she continued.
The former “Hogan Knows Best” star went on to say that she and her dad “shared a quiet, sacred bond, one that could be seen and felt by anyone who witnessed us together.”
“When he left this earth, it felt like part of my spirit left with him. I felt it before the news even reached us,” she added.
She also said she felt the need to “clear a few things up” about the pair’s relationship. A few months before Hulk Hogan’s death, Brooke Hogan went public about going “no-contact” with both of her parents.
In her July 29 tribute, the mom of two recalled that she and her husband, former pro hockey player Steven Oleksy, moved to Florida to be closer to her father as he was “getting older.” She said she had been by her dad’s side for nearly 25 surgeries. Suddenly, her father no longer wanted her to join him during his surgeries, she recalled.
“Everything started getting covered in a thick veil,” she wrote. “It was like there was a force field around him that I couldn’t get through.”
She explained that she made the decision “during the last two years” to “step away to protect my heart.”
Brooke Hogan added, “All I ever wanted from my father was love, honesty and a deep connection,” she wrote. “And for a few special years, I had that — with memories that will last a lifetime.”
In March 2025, Brooke Hogan confirmed she had gone no-contact with both him and her mother, the wrestler’s ex-wife Linda Hogan, in recent years.
After Linda Hogan said in an Instagram video that she believed her daughter cut ties with her and her ex-husband because, she alleged, he is a “sex addict” and a “liar,” Brooke Hogan responded to correct her.
Brooke Hogan explained in her own Instagram statement at the time that she had “completely separate reasons” for going no-contact.
“I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood,” she wrote at the time, adding, “Sadly, it would frequently turn physical.”
TODAY.com reached out to both Linda Hogan and Hulk Hogan for comment at the time and did not receive a response.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
