Tommy Dreamer (Tom Laughlin) has issued a statement apologizing for his comments that aired on this past week’s edition of Dark Side of the Ring covering the May 2002 “Plane Ride from Hell”.
Dreamer issued the following statement on Twitter on Sunday:
Regarding my comments on Dark Side of the ring. It was never my intention to offend, hurt, or victim shame anyone. I understand my comments were insensitive & could trigger emotions in someone’s own personal past. I do not condone sexual misconduct of any kind. I apologize to anyone I offended. From the bottom of my heart I am so sorry.
Dreamer was heavily criticized for downplaying the allegations made by Heidi Doyle against Ric Flair on the episode. Doyle had stated that Flair exposed himself to her while wearing his robe, cornering her in an area of the plane and making Doyle touch his penis. Flair indicated several weeks ago that he would speak about the incident when asked about the forthcoming episode on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast.
Dreamer stated on the episode that it was a joke by Flair and he was “styling and profiling” while adding it would be “1000 percent inappropriate today” before adding his commentary on cancel culture and people getting offended over anything while citing his haircut as a comparison point.
Dreamer added in the episode that if she felt Flair was such a heinous individual, she should not have settled her 2004 lawsuit over the incidents.
The comments were found offensive and tone-deaf by most viewers with IMPACT Wrestling suspending Dreamer indefinitely on Friday and issuing the following statement:
We are aware of Mr Laughlin’s (Tommy Dreamer) comments on “Dark Side of the Ring”. The views expressed by him in the interview are completely unacceptable. We can confirm Mr Laughlin was suspended this morning with immediate effect, pending further action.
