Hulk Hogan’s daughter has issued a furious response to ‘trolls’ who criticized her for posting a tribute to her late father while posing in a bikini.
Brooke Hogan, 38, took to Instagram on Thursday to share a series of photos of her dad, who died from a heart attack at the age of 71 in July of last year.
However, a number of users took aim at Brooke for starting the post with a picture of herself laying face down on the beach in a bikini, which shows her backside poking out from the bottom-right corner.
‘I miss my daddy so much,’ one wrote. ‘And look, everyone. Here’s a picture of my butt.’
Others ripped into her with similar jokes: ‘I’m having some deep, conflicting emotions about my father, who has passed on… Anyway, here’s my a**.’
In light of the negative reaction, Brooke fired back at her critics in another post on Instagram, which starts with edited snaps of her body looking less flattering on the beach.
Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke has hit back at ‘trolls’ who criticized her tribute to her father
Brooke, 38, shared a photo of herself sunbathing to reflect on her father’s dath
‘Would my post have been more sincere if THIS girl were at the beach mourning her dad?’ she asked.
Brooke also added: ‘I took one photo over my shoulder quickly… and proceeded to google why I’m so emotionally fatigued immediately after… And then I spent an hour looking at and saving pictures of my dad.’
Her apparent intention in including the photo was to reference the ocean, where she and wrestling legend Hogan spent much of their time together as she grew up along Florida’s gulf coast.
Yet she was estranged from her father when he died last year, meaning she even voluntarily asked to be removed from his will in 2023.
‘I know he loved me, and I loved him. I think more than anyone ever did,’ Brooke wrote over a picture of her and Hulk on a boat.
‘But in the last few years… I think he lost sight of this.’
The WWE icon’s daughter continued on another photo of her dad: ‘I am not obligated to explain to ignorant people who haven’t walked in my shoes – how I lost my dad – before I lost my dad.’
She added that she stands by her decision to cut ties with her dad for her own ‘safety and sanity’ after ‘trying till I had nothing left’.
In the caption of the post, an angry Brooke ripped into those criticizing her for sharing the bikini photo alongside the tribute to her dad.
The slideshow included several photos of Hulk, who died last year, enjoying the Gulf of Mexico
Brooke had once co-starred with her family on a VH1 reality show, but had gone years without talking to either of her parents, who divorced in 2009 after the series went off the air
‘Trust me, if I wanted to give you a thirst trap, you would have gotten one,’ she wrote. ‘If I were a surfer, a swim instructor, heavier, thinner… would it be less shocking?
‘I grew up in swimsuits. I understand that not a lot of the world gets that. But this is my home. This is me. This is my one of many days I grieved my dad. Shame on anyone for demonizing it.
‘I am a human. My father was human. And you people have the nerve to act like you’re experts on ANY topic or know anything about my experience with him? Even my closest family has no clue what I know and have experienced. And you come at me with your ignorant opinions and nasty comments hiding behind your screens? Go back under your bridge, trolls.’
Brooke is married to former NHL player Steven Oleksy. The couple shares twins Oliver and Molly.
She had once co-starred with her family on a VH1 reality show, but had gone years without talking to either of her parents, who divorced in 2009 after the series went off the air.
One of the lowest points in their fractured relationship came when a leaked sex tape of Hogan surfaced in 2015 catching him in a racist rant about Brooke and her then-boyfriend Yannique Barker.
‘That was so rough,’ she told US Weekly in April. ‘My dad got so much, like, “Oh my gosh, poor Hulk. He’s going through this. He’s fighting the sex tape thing.” I’m like, “What about us?” We were the subject of it.’
