AEW's Dustin Rhodes Apologizes To TNA's Mustafa Ali Following Social Media Backlash

AEW star Dustin Rhodes issued an apology on social media to TNA's Mustafa Ali after he received backlash on X (formerly Twitter) for a comment he left on a post fans deemed to be both transphobic and Islamophobic. After Rhodes' comment started to circulate, Ali quoted Rhodes' response with a statement that he was disappointed in the former TNT Champion.

In a since-deleted post, Rhodes commented a heart emoji and a "rock on" emoji under a photo of a woman with a gun holstered around her waist. The woman is wearing a t-shirt with a women's bathroom sign on it, with the words "come and take it" below it.

"Hey ISLAM, come at take it. I dare ya," the woman, who appears to have nothing to do with the professional wrestling world, captioned her photo.

"I respect you and your family immensely," Ali, who is Muslim, wrote in his response to Rhodes, quote-posting the deleted response to the woman. "You showing support to something like this is really disappointing."

I respect you and your family immensely. You showing support to something like this is really disappointing. https://t.co/MCNave5l42

— Mustafa Ali (@MustafaAli_X) August 18, 2026

After deleting his initial response, Rhodes commented on a screenshot shared by NoDQ.com. He apologized and stated he didn't read the caption, and "just liked the firearm." Rhodes then posted an apology directly to Ali.

"My apologies @MustafaAli_X. I am not that person," he wrote. "Genuinely like the photo. Did not read caption and don't agree with that at all."

Ali accepted the apology and asked Rhodes to be careful about "anti-whatever" rhetoric posts on social media. Rhodes continued to address his fans in his posts that followed, telling them they could think whatever they wanted, but he has "selective reading." He apologized again for not reading the full post, and said he is "100% against" what the woman said. Since commenting back to followers, Rhodes has since taken his X account private.