4 months ago
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Throughout his illustrious career, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has portrayed a variety of on-screen wrestling characters. During a recent interview with his Busted Open co-host Denise Salcedo, Henry recalled being willing to portray nearly any character he was presented in WWE, except one.
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"There was really nothing I did that I didn't want to do except when they wanted to do the 'silverback' thing," said Henry. "I'm a Black man in America, I got little Black kids all over the world looking up to me. The last thing I need to do is call myself a f***ing primate."
Henry recalls the realities of systemic racism in America being prevalent in his life since he was a child, with his mother specifically having zero tolerance for others using racist dialect. Because of this, the pitch for Henry to be referred to as a leader of a gorilla pact was one he quickly shut down. On the other hand, Henry notes that one of his most famous characters was also his favorite.
"'Sexual Chocolate' was the best," said Henry. "I had so much fun doing that."
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An idea that Henry got from the Eddie Murphy film "Coming 2 America," his former boss Vince McMahon was initially reluctant to the idea of Sexual Chocolate. However, it was Henry's portrayal that convinced McMahon to take the character to television.
"Vince said 'You're the only person I've ever met in my life that wants to lose,'" said Henry. "But I was like the whole point of the character is he gets distracted by the ladies. He gets distracted by the moment... [Vince] would laugh his a** off."
Mark Henry made headlines earlier this year when he confirmed that he would not be renewing his contract with AEW.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
