cover up
WWE legend and actor Dave Bautista got rid of Manny Pacquiao tattoo when he found out boxing legend was ‘extreme homophobe’
Former WWE star Dave Bautista got one of his tattoos covered up because of its connection to a former friend he called an ‘extreme homophobe'.
Since leaving his professional wrestling career behind, Bautista has found success in acting and has received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Drax in the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy' franchise.
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To promote his new movie ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ the 53-year-old sat down with GQ for an interview that has since gone viral because of a comment he made about one of his tattoos.
Bautista said: “This [tattoo] used to be a team logo. I was part of a team with a person who I considered a friend and someone I really looked up to.
“Then he later come out publicly with some anti-gay statements and turned out to be an extreme homophobe. I had a huge issue with it.
“It’s a personal issue with me, my mum is a lesbian. I just could no longer call him a friend, so I had it covered up with this.”
In October 2016, Bautista shared a side-by-side image of the tattoo before and after the cover-up. The old tattoo was a flaming meteor, which is the team logo of Manny Pacquiao who has a similar tattoo.
Just months before Bautista covered up his tattoo the Filipino boxing legend claimed gay people are ‘worse than animals’ while running for a seat in the Philippine Senate.
In an interview with TMZ, the former WWE star added: "I don't think it's funny. If anyone called my mother an animal, I'd stick my foot in his ass."
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After receiving a ton of backlash for his comments, Pacquiao took to social media to apologise.
He said: “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.
“I still stand on my belief that I’m against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.”
However, the apology was seemingly too little too late for Bautista who removed his tattoo tribute soon after and clearly still holds some ill will for the eight-weight world champion.