Hulk Hogan Snub Sparks Suspected Politics at Emmys In Memoriam, Linda Hogan Claims Exclusive Twist

Sage Matthews here, and yes, we are collectively spiraling as the Emmys allegedly sidelined Hulk Hogan in the In Memoriam tribute, with his ex-wife Linda insisting the snub was less a misfire and more a calculated political move. In a world where every gesture on a TV stage must be decoded for motive, Linda tells TMZ that Hogan’s omission can be read as a message about his late-life conservatism, including his appearance at the Republican National Convention last year to support President Trump. It’s not exactly a cut-and-dried boo-boo of a show, but a setup that reads like another chapter in the long, exhausting saga of pop culture and politics colliding on cable news and social feeds.

Linda Hogan’s take is blunt: Hulk was a ratings king who dominated the small screen for decades. She emphasizes his cross-aisle impact, noting his role in opening doors for non-wrestling fans to become followers. The gist is a laundry list of the usual Hogan highlights turned into a defense: he propelled Saturday Night’s Main Event, NBC’s primetime wrestling experiment that helped bring WWF stars to a broader audience in 1985, cementing wrestling as prime-time fodder. Linda argues the Emmys, broadcast on CBS, should have paused to honor a bigger portion of the Hogan-era influence, not just the acting greats and horror icons we’re told to remember.

The Emmys counterpoint is a reminder that there is a longer online version of the In Memoriam segment, a scrolling list that includes Hogan among many others like Tony Todd and Jerry Adler. The broadcast, according to the network, is not complete; the online version exists but lacks the production value of the televised arc. The takeaway, as of now, is that the snub has become a talking point because the Emmys can claim “we did include him online,” while the televised cut—where audiences are forced to process emotion in real time—left room for interpretation. In other words: it’s the old song and dance, where a long scrolling list tries to prove inclusivity without delivering the same emotional punch as a well-curated on-air tribute.

The larger undercurrent here is the era’s torrential tension between nostalgia and political identity. Hogan’s supporters point to his renaissance as a cross-genre entertainer who pulled sports, reality, and entertainment under one tent. Critics will argue that celebrity memorials, which are essentially curated lineage statements, reflect contemporary fault lines—where public figures’ late-life affiliations become fair game for scrutiny, even when the subject’s career spanned decades of mainstream acceptance. Linda Hengst, or Linda Hogan if you will, frames Hogan as a symbol of a broader fight over representation and memory in a televised homage. It’s not merely a snub; it’s the optics of who gets remembered and how, in a landscape where ratings and reverence are deployed like social currency.

What’s next in this saga? The Emmys’ official line remains that the names live on in long-form online content, but the televised “In Memoriam” is the moment audiences judge in real time. Hogan loyalists will point to decades of box-office and Nielsen momentum; his detractors will say politics cannot be separated from public memory in an era where every gesture is a headline. Does this signal a new standard for memorial tributes, or is it just another reminder that a show built on celebration can’t escape the politics that saturate today’s media environment?

So, while the debate rages about what was included, excluded, and why, one thing remains crystal: the cultural friction between star power and political identity is not going away. In the midnight comment sections and the next morning think pieces, this In Memoriam moment will be used as a reference point for who we choose to honor and how we rationalize those choices. And yes, the next celebrity memorial will likely come with a fresh round of speculation about motive, timing, and the clout needed to tilt a panelist list one way or another. What, exactly, will the industry call “respect” next time, and who gets to decide? That, dear reader, is the cliffhanger we’re ducking into tonight.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ
Attribution: Hulk Hogan vs Big Boss Man (92769012) — John McKeon from Lawrence, KS, United States (CC BY-SA 2.0) (OV)