Just days ago, VICE TV aired the latest episode of the docuseries “Dark Side of the Ring.” This episode focused on the infamous “Plane Ride From Hell,” a WWE charter trip from overseas back home that got so out of hand that multiple wrestlers were fired in the wake of it.
One of the more serious allegations from that trip involved a flight attendant saying Ric Flair exposed himself to her and forced her to touch him. He has long denied any wrongdoing, and now has released a statement, apparently against the wishes of everyone in his life, once again denying any wrongdoing:
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) September 21, 2021
Every person that I’ve worked with, from my lawyer to my publicist to my wife has said not to post a response; but I’ve never run from past behaviors before and I’m not going to start now. I want to clarify a few things:
About four years ago, I gave ESPN full access to my life for a “30 for 30” special. They covered taxes, financial issues, adultery, divorces, the passing of my child and drinking/partying AT LENGTH.
Rory Kampf, desperate to matter for another 15 minutes, did an interview about it this morning. When Rory’s lips are moving, he’s typically lying, but one part of what he said was the God’s honest truth:
“I’d never heard that he had forced someone to touch his genital,” Karpf admitted. “Everything with Ric that was construed as negative I tried to address in the 30 for 30. His drinking, his philandering, his adultery, his money problems, there’s quite a bit, but never, at least in the people that I spoke to, no one ever brought up that he would force himself on somebody.”
I allowed my personal life and the lives of my wife and children to be turned upside down for one reason: Whether it’s good or bad, even the really bad, the truth has to matter. Even in wrestling.
My issues have been well documented over my 40+ year career. The impact of drinking too much (which nearly killed me 5 years ago) has been told time and time and time again. The reason Rory (or anyone else for that matter) never heard stories of me forcing myself on ANYONE is simple: it never happened.
In the wake of the documentary airing, Car Shield pulled a commercial ad campaign Flair was featured on.