Dwayne Johnson cuts some slack for Hulk Hogan amid wrestler's racial slurs

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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says he knows Hulk is not a racist
He said he is 'disappointed' in his old friend but 'we've all talked trash'
His words come after Gawker released a video Hulk making racial slurs

By Associated Press and Sophie Jane Evans For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:53 EST, 31 July 2015 | Updated: 03:26 EST, 31 July 2015

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Dwayne Johnson says he was disappointed when he heard about a tape of Hulk Hogan using racial slurs.

Johnson, also a former pro wrestler, told a TV critics' meeting on Thursday that the remarks didn't match his personal history with Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea.

'I've known Terry for a lot of years, and my dad helped train him in Florida in the '70s when he was breaking into the business,' Johnson said at the meeting to talk about his HBO series, Ballers.

'I come from a very long line of lineage of professional wrestlers. I had not known the man to be racist.'

Speaking out: Hulk Hogan's old friend Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson said he is disappointed to hear about the racial slurs but that 'we've all talked trash'. He said he has never known Hulk to be a racist over the years

LISTEN: Hulk Hogan's racially-charged comments to son

He acknowledged: 'We've all talked trash, you know, especially in private. He said what he said, and he's paying the price.'

The 61-year-old Hogan has suffered backlash despite apologizing in a statement for using 'offensive language.'

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc severed ties with him this week.

Also on Thursday, a judge set a March 2016 trial date for a lawsuit brought by Hogan against Gawker Media for releasing a sex tape that contained the comments.

Hogan was unceremoniously sacked by the WWE last week after an audio tape emerged showing him complaining about his daughter sleeping with a black man, ranting 'f****** n*****'.

Another recording has since surfaced featuring the wrestling legend making racially-charged remarks to his then-imprisoned son, Nick Bollea, over a Florida jailhouse phone in May 2008.

'N***A... THAT MEANS YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND': HULK HOGAN'S RACIALLY-CHARGED CONVERSATION WITH HIS SON AT FLORIDA JAILHOUSE IN 2008

Hulk Hogan: 'You and me been sitting on some serious phone, phone dialogue here n***a.'

Nick Bollea: 'Yeah, nibb-ah.'

Hogan: 'N***a, n***a, that means, that means you (are) my best friend.'

Hogan: 'You know that God gave you this vibe and this, this, energy that you and I are going to live forever, bro. I just hope we don't come back as a couple, I don't want to say it, blizz-ack gizz-uys, you know what I'm saying?'

Bollea: 'Brutal' [They both laugh]

Bollea: 'It's down in St. Pete and it's mixed-race and we get along with everybody, so that's fine.'

Hogan: 'Your mom went there and said it was mainly blizz, you know what I'm sizz-aying?'

Bollea: 'Mm-hm.'

Hogan: 'And that some of the ladies there that, you know, run the school are nice blizz lizz-adies, you know?'

Bollea: 'Mm-hm.... I would go down there, I would make friends with all those kids down there. I guarantee it. Because you know how all the blizz pizz love us.'

Source: Bay News 9

Controversial: A new recording has surfaced showing Hulk Hogan making racially-charged remarks to his then-imprisoned son, Nick Bollea, over a Florida jailhouse phone in May 2008. Above, Hogan, left, is seen speaking to his son at Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater. The woman is believed to be his wife or daughter

Father and son: In the latest tape, Hogan apparently tells his then-17-year-old son: 'You and me been sitting on some serious phone, phone dialogue here n***a', to which Bollea replies: 'Yeah, nibb-ah.'Above, Hogan and Bollea are seen together in Las Vegas in May 2009 - seven months after Bollea was released from jail

In the latest tape, Hogan apparently tells his then-17-year-old son: 'You and me been sitting on some serious phone, phone dialogue here n***a', to which Bollea replies: 'Yeah, nibb-ah.'

Hogan subsequently notes that his use of the slur means that Bollea is his 'best friend'. 'N***a, n***a, that means, that means you (are) my best friend,' he appears to say in the recording.

He continues: 'You know that God gave you this vibe and this, this, energy that you and I are going to live forever, bro. I just hope we don't come back as a couple. I don't want to say it, blizz-ack gizz-uys, you know what I'm saying?'

'Brutal,' Bollea replies, prompting them both to laugh.

The recording was released in May 2008 by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as part of nearly two weeks' worth of jailhouse calls between Hogan and his son, who was freed in October that year.

Its contents - which have apparently never been heard by the public before - were reviewed again on Wednesday by Bay News 9 in the light of Hogan's widely-publicized racism controversy.

Wrestler: Hogan (pictured the day after he was fired by WWE) famously won two consecutive Royal Rumbles

First appearance: Hogan was unceremoniously sacked by the WWE last week after an audio tape emerged showing him complaining about his daughter sleeping with a black man, ranting 'f****** n*****'. Above, the pro-wrestler makes his first appearance since the scandal broke as he heads to the gym in Clearwater, Florida

At the time of the jailhouse calls, Hogan's son was serving an eight-month prison sentence for his involvement in a car crash that left his friend, John Graziano, with permanent brain damage.

Bollea was drinking and speeding in his Toyota Supra sports car when he crashed into a palm tree in Clearwater on August 26, 2007, police said. Graziano, then 22, was a passenger in the vehicle.

Due to his injuries in the crash, Graziano will likely need 24-hour-a-day care for the rest of his life. Bollea, meanwhile, was released from hospital within days, with doctors saying he was 'OK'.

He was later imprisoned from May 9, 2008 until October 21, 2008.

In the newly-reviewed jailhouse conversation, Hogan speaks to his son, also known as Nick Hogan, about the possibility of him being transferred from Pinellas County Jail to a juvenile facility.

Thankful: , Hogan tweeted that he was 'overwhelmed by the love' and retweeted their messages of support

'It’s down in St. Pete and it's mixed-race and we get along with everybody, so that's fine,' says Bollea, 25, who appeared alongside his family in the reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best.

Hogan replies: "Your mom went there and said it was mainly blizz, you know what I'm sizz-aying?"

'Mm-hm,' Bollea responds.

Hogan, who divorced Bollea's mother, Linda, in 2007 and now has a new wife, Jennifer, says: 'And that some of the ladies there that, you know, run the school are nice blizz lizz-adies, you know?'

'Mm-hm.... I would go down there, I would make friends with all those kids down there,' replies Bollea. 'I guarantee it. Because you know how all the blizz pizz love us.'