Legendary professional wrestler Hulk
Hogan says he's known Pat Patterson is gay since 1976.
The 73-year-old Patterson, who was
inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996, discussed his sexuality
publicly for the first time during the June season finale of the WWE
produced reality show Legends' House.
In the
episode, titled Farewell my Friends,
an emotional Patterson
revealed he was gay and had lived for 40 years with a partner who
died of a heart attack.
“I knew Pat was gay back in 1976,
when he helped me start wrestling,” Hogan, 61, told The
Huffington Post. “Whenever I see Pat, I give him a big hug
and kiss. He's my guy!”
“Back when Pat was wrestling, he was
afraid to be who he really is – or was meant to be – because of
all this stuff he inherited from society. 'You're supposed to be
this tough wrestler. You're supposed to be this good-looking,
platinum blonde champion who goes out and dates the best looking
women. You're supposed to be this. You're supposed to be that.'”
“But that's not true! Pat Patterson
is supposed to be who he's meant to be, not who people think he
should be, if that makes any sense,” Hogan said.