Brooke Hogan Breaks Silence on the Fallout From Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape and Racist Remarks

Brooke Hogan is not tiptoeing around it. In a new chat, she looks back at the 2012 sex tape that blew up her family, the racist remarks her dad made on it, and what that fallout actually did to her life — including her relationship at the time — and where all of that left them before his death.

The tape, the remarks, and the immediate damage

Brooke, 37, told Us Weekly on Friday, April 10, that the worst part of the scandal wasn’t the headlines about Hulk fighting a sex tape in court — it was being the collateral damage. On the tape, Hulk complained about Brooke dating a Black man, used the n-word multiple times, and flat-out said he was "racist, to a point." Brooke says the whole thing was beyond humiliating and absolutely wrecked her relationship with then-boyfriend Yannique Barker. They tried to weather it, but the storm won.

The legal battle and the WWE fallout

Audio from the tape leaked in July 2015 via TMZ and RadarOnline, which supercharged the story. The next year, 2016, Hulk won a $115 million judgment against Gawker for publishing the tape without authorization. WWE cut ties with him when the tape became public, then quietly brought him back for select appearances later on.

A twist I did not see coming: Brooke, Yannique, and SoBe

Here’s the curveball: years later, Brooke reconnected with SoBe Entertainment — the label founded by Yannique’s father — to keep her music career moving. Life being weird, that put everyone back in each other’s orbit in a much healthier way. Yannique has a son now. Brooke and her husband, former NHL player Steve Oleksy, have twins. The kids met. Steve and Yannique are friends. It’s not the reunion she imagined, but it’s some real healing.

Where Brooke is now

Brooke married Steve in 2022. They welcomed twins, Oliver and Molly, in 2025. Professionally, she’s back in the studio. Personally, she’s piecing together a version of family that actually works.

Hulk’s final years and their estrangement

Hulk Hogan died in July 2025 after a heart attack at his Florida home. He was 71. At the time, he and Brooke hadn’t spoken for about two years. She says the split wasn’t subtle — it was a full-on line in the sand.

"He said, 'You go this way, I go that way.'"

Brooke calls herself the stubborn one who pushes people to do the right thing, and says she could see both the unhealthy influences around him and the better life he could have had if he changed course. She’s honest about the hard part: even if he were still here, she isn’t sure they would have found their way back without a wholesale shift in his mindset — and the crowd he kept.

Also worth noting

A Netflix teaser recently rolled out his final interview, where Hulk talks about life after death — a postscript that lands a little differently given everything above.

• 2012: Hulk’s sex tape is recorded; his racist remarks are on it.
• July 2015: Audio leaks via TMZ and RadarOnline.
• 2016: Hulk wins $115 million judgment against Gawker.
• Post-scandal: WWE parts ways with Hulk, later brings him back for appearances.
• 2022: Brooke marries Steve Oleksy.
• 2025: Brooke and Steve welcome twins Oliver and Molly.
• July 2025: Hulk dies at home in Florida at 71.
• Now: Brooke is back working with SoBe Entertainment (founded by Yannique’s father); her family and Yannique’s are on friendly terms.