Gail Kim on Her Recent Disparaging Comments About Riho & Kenny Omega’s “Very Derogatory” Tweet In Response

As noted before, TNA Hall of Famer and former TNA Head of Talent Relations Gail Kim was involved in an online incident last week. This incident started with Kim making disparaging comments about deathmatch wrestling that led to her feuding online with Game Changer Wrestling and wrestling fans. Kim’s online rants evolved into her making disparaging comments about Riho and her “little girl” looks. This later evolved into her making negative comments about AEW and its fans after online backlash she received from Kenny Omega and others over the hypocrisy of her comments about Riho and her repeating similar disparaging and sexist/racist-leaning talking points Jim Cornette has made about Riho in the past.

A recent episode of the HUGE POP! with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas podcast featured Kim as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Kim expanding on her recent negative comments about Riho and claimed that AEW fans and/or Riho fans had twisted her words about Riho. Kim also claimed that people who used to work at AEW had reached out to her and said they agreed with her tweets.

“I’m a little feisty, I’m a little fiery, so when people come at me, I have this need to defend myself… I did budge from my stance because… the view that the AEW fans or maybe the Riho fans had, a lot of them were very misunderstood and I felt like got very twisted inside and out and backwards and forwards and every which way you can imagine. So, I tried to explain myself… I was not, in any way, saying anything bad about her. I was talking about my discomfort in a segment that I had watched, probably when AEW started, because I don’t watch AEW currently. I’ve tried a few times. Wasn’t really my cup of tea. I do support, of course, a lot of the wrestlers over there because our world is very small, and yeah, I always support the wrestlers and what they do. I gave my answer from a question that was asked. I think it stemmed from a Jim Cornette question, who is also very controversial, and I guess people who didn’t like my opinion, and maybe read people’s twisted interpretations of what was said, took it the wrong way… The (Dave) Meltzers of the world and people telling me I need to apologize. It’s just ridiculous in my opinion just because I don’t think he fully understands the situation, and like I said, I would have been happy to have a conversation just like we’re having right now. I always feel like having conversations clears up things so much more, besides standing behind or sitting behind a keyboard where you’re anonymous, whereas we are all public figures and we have to take accountability for what we say and they really don’t.

For me, I saw that one segment and I remember just feeling uncomfortable… Yes, she appeared to look very young, and then dressed, in that particular match, like a little girl, in my mind, and then when the cameraman — I think she was going up to the top rope — and I remember the cameraman shooting up her skirt, which, you know, happened a lot in my early wrestling days, where I had to go tell the cameraman or the production truck, ‘Hey! Stop shooting up my ass.’ So I felt uncomfortable and that kind of set the tone for the match. I’d honestly have to go look to see what match it was. It might have been Nyla (Rose), because it was very early on, and when I said she wasn’t believable in that match, it was just ‘cause I felt uncomfortable from the start, if you get my drift, in terms of — in this age of the child — you know, Jeffrey Epstein-era… I just felt really uncomfortable and then so, that’s what I meant by it and I actually had AEW — former people that worked there, say to me, ‘I agreed with you. I would be backstage and I felt the same way,’ and so, listen, not everyone’s gonna feel that way and by no means makes me think she’s current-day, not believable wrestler. I actually haven’t seen her wrestle again. Maybe clips online. But I can’t judge what type of wrestler I think she is today, and I’ve admittedly said that I haven’t watched their product in a really long time so, I’m happy to watch the product again and give my opinion on that, so, I would just hope that people have open minds…”

Kim also gave her thoughts about Omega’s response to her and claimed that Omega’s comments of “another legend ‘doing the splits on it’ for a TKO gift basket” was very derogatory.

“Even what he said though, was very derogatory. Again, he was probably reading things online and believing the AEW fans who twisted all the messaging, in my opinion, I don’t know. Maybe he did read my original answer. But, to say I do the splits — I didn’t even know what that meant at first. I’m like, ‘What do you mean I do the splits for TKO?’ I’m like, ‘What is he talking about?’”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com