2x WWE Hall of Famer, Booker T addressed the Jordan Myles WWE t-shirt controversy yesterday on the latest episode of his “Hall Of Fame” podcast with co-host Brad Gilmore.
Booker T addressed the WWE creative process of t-shirt designs and Myles’ comments about ROH star, Jay Lethal being an “Uncle Tom”, which Booker says he’s also been called himself in the past.
We have collected a series of quotes from the podcast – excerpts below:
Booker T on the Shirt
I don’t know how this t-shirt got out without him knowing about it… it’s not our job to step up and defend Jordan Myles over his t-shirt.
Is it a racially driven concept of a t-shirt? In 2019, I cannot think that the guys actually went into it thinking ‘let’s make a racial shirt about Jordan Myles… A lot of people may think that but I just don’t think the firestorm is worth going through this. It’s just not. Is it something that should have been discussed, is it something that should have been talked about? Yes.
But this going to social media crap is the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You can be working at Jack in the Box and if something happens, you want to go to social media and talk about it. Your business and your job is your business; alright, with that company. It’s not for the world to come in. I don’t know when is the last time somebody on social media signed my check. Okay. Alright…
I never complained to social media about any racial situation that I’ve been in and I’ll tell you right now if anybody knows me, anybody in this wrestling knows Booker T, they know exactly what I have gone through and how I’ve handled every situation. There’s never been a racial issue that has gone over my head or that I’ve swept under the rug. Every single time someone has said anything racial around me, I’ve handled it.
Jordan Myles Calls Jay Lethal an Uncle Tom
And to hear this Uncle Tom crap … I’ve known Jay Lethal. Jay Lethal’s put in almost 20 years in this business, he’s no Uncle Tom. I’ve heard people call me an Uncle Tom and if they do it, I wish they would do it to my face. Don’t do it behind those characters, don’t do it behind social media, don’t do it behind a cloak of anonymity. Do it in my face because I will show you what an Uncle Tom really looks like…
Social media and your business, they don’t go together.
To hear the full interview check out the Hall of Fame podcast on YouTube.
World Wrestling Entertainment released the following statement about Myles’ comments on social media:
Albert Hardie Jr. (aka Jordan Myles) approved this t-shirt for sale. As always, we work collaboratively with all of our performers to develop logos and merchandise designs and get their input and approval before proceeding. This was the same process with Albert, and we responded swiftly once he later requested that the logo/t-shirt be redesigned. No t-shirts were sold.
In the last few hours, Jordan Myles released his own “statement” on Instagram:
