Ronda Rousey has officially apologized for sharing a Sandy Hook conspiracy theory video over 10 years ago.
Back in 2013, the former UFC champion reposted a clip that questioned if the shooting—which ended in the deaths of 20 children and six school staff—was real. Her misstep resurfaced when Rousey took to Reddit earlier this week, announcing that she recently launched a Kickstarter for her first graphic novel, Expecting the Unexpected. She prompted posters to ask her questions AMA style, and many challenged her on Sandy Hook.
"I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul, I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused,” she wrote in her statement, posted to X.
"I can't even begin to imagine the pain you’ve endured, and words cannot describe how thoroughly remorseful and ashamed I am of myself for contributing to it,” she continued. “I’ve regretted it every day of my life since and will continue to do so until the day I die."
When she posted the video in 2013, Rousey called it “extremely interesting” and a “must-watch.” According to TMZ, she quickly took the clip down but the damage was done. In her apology, the 37-year-old explained that she was “horrified at the truth” and was "grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead."
She said she wanted to apologize in her 2015 memoir, Our Fight, but that her publisher "begged me to take it out, saying it would overshadow everything else and do more harm than good."
"So I convinced myself that apologizing would just reopen the wound for no other reason than me selfishly trying to make myself feel better, that I would hurt those suffering even more and possibly lead more people down the black hole of conspiracy bulls*** by it being brought up again just so I could try to shake the label of being a 'Sandy Hook truther."
She warned others to not get caught up in conspiracy theories, calling them “the black hole of bullshit.” She added, “No matter how long you've gone down the wrong road, you should still turn back."