Ronda Rousey issues apology for sharing Sandy Hook conspiracy video 11 years ago: ‘I deserve to be hated’

Ronda Rousey is apologizing for sharing a Sandy Hook massacre conspiracy video in 2013. The former UFC and WWE champion published the apology on Friday morning after her recent fan Q&A was flooded with reminders about her actions.

Rousey took part in an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit earlier this week. The popular Reddit subform hosts notable guests answering questions from fans. The Reddit post was overwhelmed with reminders, jokes and demands for an apology after Rousey shared the conspiracy video 11 years ago. Reddit uses a voting system to dictate which posts are most visible. The top comment on Rousey’s AMA acknowledges a YouTube video Rousey shared in January 2013, according to Bleacher Report, one month after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six staff members.

Rousey called the video “extremely interesting, and must watch,” in 2013 before deleting the tweet.

“I can’t say how many times I’ve redrafted this apology over the last 11 years,” Rousey wrote in the early hours of Friday morning. “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 11 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. 

Rousey claimed she included an apology in her last memoir before her publisher “begged” her to remove it. The apology was allegedly removed to avoid overshadowing the rest of the book.

“I convinced myself that apologizing would just reopen the wound for no other reason than me selfishly trying to make myself feel better,” Rousey said. “That I would hurt those suffering even more and possibly lead more people down the black hole of conspiracy bullshit by it being brought up again just so I could try to shake the label of being a ‘Sandy Hook truther.’”

The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and three-time WWE women’s champion said she deserved any outrage towards her. Rousey apologized for any pain her actions caused.

“I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented and worse for it,” Rousey said. “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 Hooker massacre, from the bottom of my heart and the 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.”

Rousey closed her statement by urging others misinformed by conspiracy theories to rewire their thinking. Rousey said that digesting such conspiracy theories was not fruitful due diligence and would only bring harm.

“And to anyone else that’s fallen down the black hole of bullshit, 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.”

You can read Rousey’s full statement below.