Ronda Rousey has finally come clean about an incident more than a decade ago in which she shared an online conspiracy theory video about the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy. And it seems the former WWE star has been wanting to get the apology off his chest for a very long time.
In January 2013, about a month after the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, that killed 20 children and six adults, Rousey shared the video on Twitter, calling it “extremely interesting” and a must-see .” After receiving immediate backlash, he deleted the video and followed up with a second tweet, claiming that “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what they say.”
The next day, Rousey issued an actual apology, stating that she never intended to offend or hurt anyone, that she apologizes if anyone was offended, and that it was “not the least bit of intent.” And until recently, those were the last words he spoke on the subject. The 37-year-old is currently expecting her second child with former UFC fighter Travis Browne, although it's unclear if that inspired her decision to come forward now.
“I can't tell you how many times I've reworded this apology over the last 11 years,” Rousey wrote in a note posted on social media on Friday. “How many times have I convinced myself that it wasn't the right time or that I would cause more harm to give it away. But 11 years ago I made the most regrettable decision of my life. I watched a Sandy Hook conspiracy video and retweeted it, but so I was horrified by the truth that I was instead looking for an alternative fiction that I latched onto and quickly realized my mistake, but the damage was done.”
Although it was rarely reported at the time, Rousey noted that “by some miracle” her indiscretions slipped under the mainstream media's radar.
“I was never asked about it, so I never talked about it again because I was afraid that drawing attention to it would have the opposite effect,” he explained. “It can increase the views of conspiracy videos and selfishly inform even more people that I was ignorant, immersed, and quite tone deaf to share one.”
Rousey continued, noting that she had drafted an apology to include in her final memoir, but agreed to remove it at the behest of her publisher, who felt it would do more harm than good. In the end, he says, he agreed, not because of the potential personal consequences, but because he didn't want to cause more suffering to the victims' families or lead others down that path.
“But honestly, I deserve to be hated, labeled, hated, resented and worse for it. I deserve to lose every opportunity, I should have quit, I deserved it. I still do,” Rousey admitted. “I apologize that this is 11 years late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart and from the bottom of my soul for the pain I have caused. I cannot even begin. Imagine the pain you have endured and put into words it is impossible to describe how deeply I regret and am ashamed of having contributed to this, I have regretted it every day of my life since then, and I will continue to do so until the day I die.
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 23, 2024
Rousey added that for anyone else who has fallen into the “black hole of the bull…”, it doesn't make you nervous or an independent thinker, and due diligence doesn't come with entertaining conspiracy theories. “No matter how many bridges you've burned, don't dig yourself a deeper hole, don't get wrapped up in the sunk cost fallacy, no matter how long you've gone down the wrong path, you still have to turn back.” she finished.
The Sandy Hook school shooting has been the subject of countless conspiracy theories, including false claims that the tragedy was orchestrated by the government to promote stricter gun laws, or that it never happened. Internet personality Alex Jones (not the producer of the video Rousey shared) faced serious financial consequences for making false claims about the shooting.
While Rousey obviously can't change the past, accountability is at least an admirable first step. And with all hope, your words will actually reach someone else who needs to hear them.