Ronda Rousey Issues Apology 11 Years After Sharing Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theory Video

Ronda Rousey, the former WWE star and MMA fighter, has found herself at the center of controversy again—this time for something that dates back years. After her departure from WWE following her match with Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam last year, Rousey has issued a long-overdue apology for her involvement in spreading Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.

The 37-year-old athlete recently faced criticism during a Reddit AMA for past tweets that supported false claims about the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting. When pressed about her comments, Rousey abruptly ended the AMA, but the conversation didn’t stop there.

Back in the day, Ronda had shared a conspiracy theory that falsely claimed the Sandy Hook shooting, which took the lives of 20 children and left many others injured, was staged. This theory, which caused significant harm, has since been widely discredited, with some of its main proponents facing legal repercussions.

In a recent Twitter post, Rousey finally apologized for spreading the false information, acknowledging the hurt she caused 11 years ago. She admitted that she had struggled for years to find the right words and timing to apologize, but ultimately realized it was a mistake that would haunt her forever. Despite quickly deleting the post back then, she recognized that the damage had already been done and feared that addressing it would only make things worse.

Rousey also revealed that even when she was writing her memoir, her publisher advised against including the apology, worried it would overshadow the rest of the book. She convinced herself that staying silent was the best course of action, but now understands that she deserved the backlash she received.

In her heartfelt apology, Rousey expressed deep regret for the pain she caused the Sandy Hook victims and their families. She also warned others against falling into the trap of conspiracy theories, emphasizing that they only lead to fear, misery, and isolation.

”I can’t say how many times I’ve redrafted this apology over the last 11 years. How many times I’ve convinced myself it wasn’t the right time or that I’d be causing even more damage by giving it. But eleven years ago I made the single most regrettable decision of my life. I watched a Sandy Hook conspiracy video and reposted it on twitter. I didn’t even believe it, but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was done. By some miracle it seemingly slipped under the media’s radar, I was never asked about it so I never spoke of it again, afraid that calling attention to it would have the opposite of the intended effect – it could increase the views of those conspiracy videos, and selfishly, inform even more people I was ignorant, self absorbed, and tone deaf enough to share one in the first place.

I drafted a thousandth apology to include in my last memoir, but my publisher begged me to take it out, saying it would overshadow everything else and do more harm than good. So I convinced myself that apologizing would just reopen the wound for no other reason than me selfishly trying to make myself feel better, that I would hurt those suffering even more and possibly lead more people down the black hole of conspiracy b******* by it being brought up again just so I could try to shake the label of being a “Sandy Hook truther”.

But honestly I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do.

I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain you’ve endured and words cannot describe how thoroughly remorseful and ashamed I am of myself for contributing to it. I’ve regretted it every day of my life since and will continue to do so until the day I die.

And to anyone else that’s fallen down the black hole of b******. It doesn’t make you edgy, or an independent thinker, you’re not doing your due diligence entertaining every possibility by digesting these conspiracies. They will only make you feel powerless, afraid, miserable and isolated. You’re doing nothing but hurting others and yourself. Regardless of how many bridges you’ve burned over it, stop digging yourself a deeper hole, don’t get wrapped up in the sunk cost fallacy, no matter how long you’ve gone down the wrong road, you should still turn back.”

Fans and critics alike are hoping that Rousey’s apology marks a step forward in her growth and maturity, as she reflects on the consequences of her actions.

Did you ever expect Ronda Rousey to apologize for sharing the Sandy Hook conspiracy theory video? Do you feel Rousey is a better person now that she has apologized? Sound off in the comments section below!