More On Past Racism Allegations At Hulk Hogan's Restaurant
You may remember that last year, there was a brief controversy surrounding the dress code at Hogan's Beach, the restaurant that bears Hulk Hogan's name in Tampa, Florida. Stressing that "beach attire was required" because "this is a beach party,"the dress code banned the following items explicitly:
* Plain white t-shirts or otherwise versized t-shirts extending past the mid thigh
* Attire containing profanity
* Sports or sleeveless jerseys
* Excessively baggy attire
* Low hanging pants or shorts
* Do-rags, skull caps, or bandanas (at a Hulk Hogan-themed restaurant where the sign shows him wearing a do-rag)
* Torn or soiled clothing
* Work boots
* Hats, caps, or visors worn sideways or back facing
* Oversized or excessive jewelry.
* Camouflage (unless with military ID)
* Workout clothing (including tracksuits, jumpsuits, sweatpants, basketball shorts, gym shorts, and mesh shorts)
* High-top sneakers
The dress code was perceived by some as singling out stereotypically "black" attire. When TMZ reported on it, they noted that there were no black faces in the restaurant's promo video. They reached out to Hogan, who said he only licenses his name to the restaurant, but he'd look into it. In a follow-up story, Hogan told TMZ that he demanded the restaurant take down the dress code sign, which had apparently been modeled after pool parties in Miami and Las Vegas.
Yesterday, Radar Online (who partnered with the National Enquirer in breaking the story about his racist tirade) reported that the restaurant's management was trying to distance the eatery from Hogan's comments. In researching the story, they discovered that the restaurant's 2015 Florida Limited Liability Company Annual Report, filed February 11th, lists Hugan (under his real name of Terry Gene Bollea, with "Gene" misspelled), as the owner (how Radar characterized it) or registered agent (what the document says).
This directly contradicts what he told TMZ last year. Unless his status changed between September and February, then it appears that he may have been misleading TMZ in an attempt to make it appear that he had less to do with the restaurant than he actually did.