Hulk Hogan pleads for forgiveness - 1st September 2015

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Hulk Hogan has asked for forgiveness for making a mistake by using a racial slur at the 'lowest point of his life'.

The 62-year-old wrestler was sacked from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for comments he allegedly made about his daughter's then-boyfriend and has made a fresh plea for forgiveness.

He said: 'I'm not a racist but I never should have said what I said. It was wrong. I'm embarrassed by it.'

In a message directed to his fans, he added: 'Oh, my gosh. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. I think if you look at the whole picture of who Hulk Hogan is, you can see over all the years that there's not a racist bone in my body.'

Whilst Hulk - real name Terry Bollea - did not excuse his actions, he said it was 'fair' to suggest he had inherited a racial bias whilst growing up in south Tampa.

He added: 'People need to realise that you inherit things from your environment. And where I grew up was south Tampa, Port Tampa, and it was a really rough neighbourhood, very low income. And all my friends, we greeted each other saying that word. (it was) just thrown around like it was nothing.

'I would say that is very fair (to say I inherited a racial bias). The environment I grew up in in south Tampa and all my white friends, all my black friends, to hear the word on a daily basis when they'd greet me in the morning, that's what they'd say to me, 'Good morning,' so-and-so. I think that was part of the culture and the environment I grew up in and I think that's fair to say.'

However, Terry is pleased his daughter Brooke has forgiven him for the comments he made.

He added: 'She knows me. She's seen me - kids of every colour, nationality... She's seen me interact with these kids through Make A Wish, through just all these different organisations.

'For me to vent and be so angry at her, she should have been the one - she should have been the one to throw me out like the trash. But instead, she showed me more love than anybody.

'She's been so supportive ... she instantly said 'I don't even need to forgive you 'cause I'm not mad at you. I love you. You're my dad.''

During his interview on 'Good Morning America', the wrestler also admitted he was feeling suicidal when the tape was made over eight years ago.

Describing how he felt at the time, he said: 'I was to the point where I wanted to kill myself, you know? I was completely broken and destroyed and said, 'What's the easiest way out of this?' I mean, I was lost.'

When asked if he was suicidal, he told ABC News' Amy Robach: 'Yes, I was.'