Fitness influencer Joey Swoll (Joey Sergo) built a large following on social media for his advocacy for "gym positivity." In his videos, he called people out for targeting beginners, shaming other gym goers, or just generally making the gym feel unwelcoming or unsafe.
His message made him very popular, but a recent post, his initial response to backlash, and the apologies that came after have drawn widespread criticism from his followers on TikTok, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
On July 25, Swoll posted a now-deleted tribute to controversial professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea had died the day before.
Swoll posted a short clip across his social media accounts from an old video of himself dressed as Bollea's wrestling alter-ego while working out in a gym.
The video was captioned:
"RIP to a legend and one of my inspirations to start working out."
@TheJoeySwoll/X
As with others who posted tributes, Swoll's fans let him know that they found Hogan less than inspirational. In response, Swoll addressed the backlash during a livestream, defending his decision and Hogan.
He said:
"I can post Hulk Hogan if I want to. Just because somebody makes a mistake in their life, doesn't mean that they haven't done good things. I don't know what he did. He said something 20 years ago and apologized for it."
Then Swoll, unfortunately, added:
"If you're going to attack me, you better go after the colored athletes and the people that are Black and minority that went and posted him as well."
"Okay. The man was nice to me, and he made a mistake. I'm not God. People make mistakes in life. If you got a problem with that, look at yourself."
You can see the since deleted video here:
People watching the livestrem were shocked Swoll used the archaic term "colored" as an adjective.
Originating in the Caribbean during the trans-Atlantic slave trade to describe mixed race people primarily of African and European descent, the term was adopted in the United States and became associated first with slavery, then with post-Civil War segregation, to indicate anyone with even "one drop" of non-White blood.
The term differs from "people of color" in its origin and adoption into common vernacular. POC or BIPOC are terms adopted by people of the global majority to refer to themselves. "Colored" was a term adopted by people of the global minority to label others.
Because of it's close association with Jim Crow signage and segregation laws, "colored" is no longer used, nor is it considered acceptable to use, especially by anyone it wouldn't refer to—like Swoll.
Swoll's followers swiftly let him know his justification during his livestream was offensive.
So his next video included an apology for his ignorance, not just of the inappropriate term, but also of Hogan's history of racism, betrayal of fellow wrestlers, threats of violence against women, and union busting.
Hogan even declared:
"I am racist, to a point, f*cking [n-words]."
The day after his livestream, Swoll posted his apology on Instagram and TikTok, but not on X or Facebook where his followers trend more conservative. In it, he announced he deleted his Hogan tribute from all of his social media accounts.
He said:
"Instead of listening and understanding like I should have, I became defensive and said that I was posting to celebrate the wrestling icon, the person that so many of us looked up to as kids... I didn't know to the extent of all the horrible things that he had done."
He continued:
"Since last night, I've done a lot of research...and learned all of the horrible, horrible things that that man has done. Which is way more than just making a mistake and being human. I have taken the videos down, and I apologize to anybody that I offended."
But his contrition turned to victimhood quickly.
The next day he posted on X:
"All the good I've done, all the people I've helped, all for nothing. I truly hope all the people I've inspired do great things in their life and pay it forward to help others and carry on my message."
"But no matter how much good you do, people just wait for a reason to hate you and tear you down. You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the villain. Thank you for your support. I am done."
@TheJoeySwoll/X
Swoll's followers on X attacked him for "bending the knee" to the [insert slur here]. The overwhelming response on Elon Musk's platform was attacks on Swoll's masculinity and sexuality, interspersed with racial slurs.
Which was a point raised on Reddit.
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Who is lurking in Swoll's comments came into sharp focus.
Swoll's brand is gym positivity and acceptance, yet a disturbing trend was found in his content. The fitness influencer calls out women and people of color at disproportionate rates based on the population of gym goers.
r/Drama/Reddit
His content attracts a lot of openly racist and misogynist men.
When they fill his comments with racism and misogyny, Swoll doesn't address or discourage the behavior.
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Perhaps if would be best if Swoll followed his own catchphrase advice.
Do better.
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