Hulk Hogan is asking his fans and the world to forgive him after using the n-word.
The wresting star, whose real name is Terry Bollea, is heard using the racial slur in a sex tape that is believed to have occurred in 2006 or 2007.
In an interview with ABC News' Amy Robach that aired on Monday's "Good Morning America," the 62-year-old explained the circumstances of his comments saying he was "upset over a situation that happened" with his daughter Brooke and her boyfriend.
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He said he had "no idea" that he was being taped at the time.
The fallout from the incident left Hogan shattered.
"I was to the point where I wanted to kill myself, you know?" he said. "I was completely broken and destroyed and said, 'What's the easiest way out of this?' I mean, I was lost."
READ: WWE Severs Ties With Hulk Hogan Amid Report That He Used Slurs On Sex Tape
Robach asked the wrestler is if he was ever suicidal following the incident.
"Yes, I was," he replied.
Robach then asked "Are you a racist?"
"I'm not a racist but I never should have said what I said. It was wrong. I'm embarrassed by it," he said. "People need to realize that you inherit things from your environment. And where I grew up was south Tampa, Port Tampa, and it was a really rough neighborhood, very low income. And all my friends, we greeted each other saying that word."
Hogan was then asked if it was possible that he inherited a racial bias.
"I would say that is very fair. The ... the environment I grew up in in south Tampa and all my white friends, all my black friends, to hear the word on a daily basis when they'd greet me in the morning, that's what they'd say to me, 'Good morning,' so-and-so," he said. "I think that was part of the culture and the environment I grew up in and I think that's fair to say."
Adding, "I'm a nice guy. It's not, you know, not the Hulk Hogan that rips a shirt off and bang, bang, bang, slams giants, you know? I'm Terry Bollea."
Despite all the issues surrounding his comments, including a legal battle with Gawker Media for publishing an excerpt of the tape, Hogan explained that he's attempting to grow from the experience.
"You know, just because a person makes a mistake, just don't throw them away. You don't throw good people away ... I refuse to believe that one thing that I did, which is not who I am, is the beginning of my demise," he told Robach.
Adding, "If everybody at their lowest point was judged on one thing they said and let's just say in high school, you may have said one bad thing and all of a sudden, your whole career was wiped out today because of something you said 10 or 20 years ago, it'd be a sad world. People get better every day. People get better."
-- Jesse Spero
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