Brooke Hogan opens up to ET about how her dad's doing since the scandal.
Brooke Hogan doesn't support her father Hulk Hogan's racist remarks caught on tape eight years ago, but that doesn't mean she's not standing behind the 61-year-old wrestler 100 percent.
ET caught up with the 27-year-old singer on Tuesday to talk about her upcoming five song EP, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend, out Sept. 4, where the talk turned to her dad's headline-making apology last month. According to a joint investigation by the National Enquirer and RadarOnline, Hogan -- whose real name is Terry Bollea -- is captured on a sex tape made in 2008 repeatedly using the N-word among other highly offensive remarks. The conversation is reportedly in reference to Brooke and her relationship with an African-American man at the time.
"He's my dad, I love him and the reason I'm standing by his side on this whole thing is because I know him, and it's so easy for people to just -- they need something to jump down people's backs about," Brooke told ET exclusively. "He's an easy target."
WATCH: Hulk Hogan Apologizes for Racial Slurs Caught on Tape, WWE Erases Him from Website
She said that her father was at "the lowest point in his life" at the time of the tape, which is what drove him to say the remarks.
"I understand when people are writing me mean tweets and saying your dad's this and [that] ... [but] I wish I could talk to them and just say, 'Have you ever been really mad at somebody and just said the worst about them?' ... It's not that my dad thinks that, and that's not how we were raised."
In fact, Brooke said she's dated guys of mixed race and it's never been an issue for her family. "My dad's best friends with Mr. T, he's best friends with Dennis Rodman, he's not racist," she also shared. "It's just when you're mad and you're at the lowest point in your life .... you just choose ill-fitting words for that situation just to air your shorts out."
"He's so nice to everybody," she added. "He doesn't talk like that, which is what was so strange about it."
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Still, she clearly understands some of his fans' disappointment with the wrestling legend.
"I feel bad for my dad, but I also feel bad for the African-American fans and stuff because they don’t know that he didn't mean it," she said. "You know, it would be offensive. But this is something that we have to put a stop to everyday, because I'll be honest with you, I've had a black guy call me a honkey, and I've also been told that white people smell like bologna. I don't take offense to it, I just laughed at it."
Brooke said Hogan is "a lot bummed out" about being erased from the WWE website, but is also taking full responsibility.
"He didn't want to disappoint his fans," she explained. "He doesn't want anyone to think that of him because it's not who he really is. And wrestling is his life, so being scrubbed from the WWE, it was really like turning the knife. And he understands, he takes responsibility for it. He's like, 'I messed up, like, this is the repercussions of what's happening.'"
Last month, Hogan apologized for his remarks, telling ET in a statement, "It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it. ... I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs. It is not who I am. I continue to work every day to improve as a person, and this matter is an important learning experience for me in that regard."
Hogan has remained active on his Twitter since the scandal, retweeting his fans' messages of support.
"Unless u went through this, true loyalty and love has a different meaning, it makes u want to live and not die. ... 4 those that never left me, I am forever grateful and love u with all my heart life, only love 4u," he tweeted last Monday. "For those that left me and didn't stand by my side, u will see and I will prove, who I really am and u will also understand my love for u."
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Watch the video below for more on the scandal.
