Days after earning the ire of several fellow WWE superstars and other mainstays of the wrestling business due to what they felt was a poorly timed pro-Donald Trump tweet, it appears that Friday Night SmackDown wrestler Jaxson Ryker has switched his social media accounts to private following the unearthing of yet another divisive post.
As reported by WrestlingNews.co on Wednesday night, Ryker appears to have gone private on Instagram and Twitter, as well as on Facebook, where he has a personal account under his real name, Chad Lail. The outlet noted that this development took place on the same day that fans had spotted a photo of the wrestler from 2017, where he described himself as a “soul man” while showing off a particularly dark tan.
“The one time I took a selfie as soul man while a guy was p*ssing behind me,” read Ryker’s caption, as seen in a screen capture shared by a Twitter user. “Love bodybuilding. One of the most rewarding things I’ve done aswell [sic] as wrestling.”
You rejected them, so now The #ForgottenSons are rejecting YOU. #SmackDown @SteveCutlerWWE @JaxsonRykerWWE @TheWWEBlake pic.twitter.com/lJkuaQWKrn
— WWE (@WWE) May 18, 2020
Explaining the apparent uproar over Ryker’s use of the aforementioned term, WrestlingNews.co noted that Soul Man is the name of a 1986 movie starring C. Thomas Howell, where he played a young white man who took tanning pills in order to darken his skin, thus allowing him to qualify for a black-only scholarship at Harvard Law School. As Howell was required to wear blackface for the part, the film was widely panned and protested upon its release.
In addition to the controversies regarding his pro-Trump tweet and his “soul man” photo, Ryker has also faced backlash for a Facebook post he made in 2019 that saw him describing the Black Lives Matter movement as “garbage” and adding that people of all races should realize “how good you all actually have it.” That post, per Cultaholic , was made private as of Wednesday morning.
“Learn heritage,” the former U.S. Marine reportedly added. “Christ, Gandhi, Budda [sic]; they all Taught love and caring for others. This is getting out of hand. I Pray for this nation daily.”
Although it’s not clear whether Ryker will be sanctioned by WWE for the aforementioned social media posts, the promotion has taken time to address the issues — particularly those on the topic of race — that arose following the death of George Floyd. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , WWE sent an email to all its employees on Wednesday, one in which the promotion discussed various tools and options that can be utilized to encourage diversity and help in the handling of racially sensitive matters.