Ronda Rousey Apologizes Years After Sharing Conspiracy Theory Video

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Ronda Rousey has finally come clean about an incident that happened more than a decade ago, when she shared a conspiracy theory video online about the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy. And it looks like the former WWE star has been wanting to get the apology out of her head for a long time.

In January 2013, about a month after the December 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which killed 20 children and six adults, Rousey posted a video on Twitter, which she described as “extremely interesting” and “a must-see.” After receiving immediate backlash, she deleted the video and posted a second tweet claiming that “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what is being said.”

The next day, Rousey issued a genuine apology, stating that she didn't mean to insult or hurt anyone, that she apologized if anyone was hurt, and that it was “not her intention in the slightest.” And so far, those were the last words she's ever spoken on the matter. The 37-year-old is currently expecting her second child with former UFC fighter Travis Browne, but it's unclear if that has any bearing on her decision to come forward now.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewritten this apology over the last 11 years,” Rousey wrote in a note shared on social media on Friday. “I convinced myself that this wasn’t the right time or that I would do more harm than good. But 11 years ago, I made the most regrettable decision of my life. I watched the Sandy Hook conspiracy theory video and reshared it on Twitter. I didn’t even believe it, but I was so horrified by the truth that I looked for an alternative fiction to hold onto. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was already done.”

Although it wasn't widely publicized at the time, Rousey said that “by some miracle” her inappropriateness flew under the mainstream media's radar.

“I was never asked about it, so I never mentioned it again, because I was afraid that drawing attention to it wouldn’t have the intended effect,” she explained. “That could have increased the views of those conspiracy videos and selfishly shown more people that I was ignorant, selfish, and tone-deaf enough to share one in the first place.”

Rousey went on to say that she had drafted an apology to include in her latest memoir, but agreed to remove it after her publisher told her it would do more harm than good. She ultimately said she agreed not because of the potential personal consequences, but because she didn't want to cause further pain to the victims' families and cause others to follow suit.

“But honestly, I deserve to be hated, labeled, hated, made fun of, and made worse for it. I deserve to miss every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do,” Rousey admitted. “I apologize that this is 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and from the bottom of my soul, I am so, so sorry for the pain I caused. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain you are all going through, and I cannot express in words how regretful and ashamed I am that I contributed to it. I have regretted it every day of my life and will continue to regret it until the day I die.”

For others who have fallen into the “black hole of bulls,” Rousey added that it doesn’t make you angry or an independent thinker, and doing your due diligence isn’t about entertaining conspiracy theories. “No matter how many bridges you’ve burned, no matter how deep you’ve dug yourself, no matter how long you’ve been on the wrong path, you still have to get back on track,” she concluded.

The Sandy Hook school shooting has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, including false claims that the tragedy was staged by the government to promote stricter gun control laws or that it never happened at all. Internet personality Alex Jones (not the producer of the video Rousey shared) has faced serious financial consequences for his false claims about the attack.

Rousey can't change the past, but taking responsibility is at least an admirable first step. And hopefully, her words will reach someone else who needs to hear them.

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