Pat Patterson Says He Never Experienced Homophobia During His Wrestling Career

By
On Top Magazine Staff
| August 12, 2016

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.