In an interview with Newsweek to
promote his new autobiography, Pat Patterson says he never
experienced homophobia during his wrestling career.
Patterson, who was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame in 1996, came out in 2014 on the WWE reality show
Legends' House, 30 years
after retiring from the ring.
In
Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE,
Patterson, 75, recalls moving from Montreal to Boston at the age of
19 with little money and no English to pursue his dream of becoming a
top wrestler.
“Some of your
close friends in wrestling realized you were gay and were supportive,
but did you experience any homophobia in your career?” Newsweek
asked.
“Never,”
Patterson
answered. “My whole life in the business, years and years,
I’ve wrestled just about everybody in the business. I’ve never
had a problem. I turned out to be so good that they liked to wrestle
with me because I made them look good. I had a reputation for being a
good guy and friendly with everybody. The word 'gay' or 'queer' was
never brought up.”
“Of
course, I hid it too. I didn’t want anybody to know I was gay. All
these years, I had to hide. I traveled all over the country. A lot of
guys had girlfriends here, girlfriends there, but I was too afraid to
go to a gay bar. I had to wear a hat so I wouldn’t be seen. I hid
for years. I kept saying to myself, 'One of these days, I’ve got to
come out.' That’s what I did on Legends’ House.
I feel like I’m free now after all these years of hiding,” he
added.
(Related:
Hulk
Hogan: I knew Pat Patterson was gay for decades.)