Shawn Michaels was one of the biggest names in professional wrestling in the ’90s, earning the nicknames Heartbreak Kid, The Showstopper, and Mr. WrestleMania. But some fans also started calling him “gay” around 1996, and Michaels’ responses speak volumes.
Of course, gay was an unfortunately common insult in the ’90s, especially in hyper-masculine (yet undeniably homoerotic) spaces like the WWE. So why did Michaels, specifically, get targeted with the immature heckle?
All signs point to Playgirl.
Specifically, the October 1996 issue featuring Michaels in a towel and a come-hither look on its cover:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The star’s willingness to show his softer side in a magazine that many understood appealed to gay men along with straight women was enough for wrestling fans to start chanting “Shawn is gay!” at various WWE events.
But Michaels was having absolutely none of their homophobia, and it turned him into something of an icon for gay fans.
In this clip from 1997 that’s recently resurfaced, Michaels meets a group of hecklers at their level.
Responding to the “Shawn is gay” chants, he fired back: “Why don’t you ask your sister and your mama how gay Shawn is? Yeah!”
Shawn Michaels responding to homophobic chants from the crowd ? pic.twitter.com/V1xL9v0WSq
— Wrestling Pics & Clips (@WrestleClips) August 15, 2022
Related: WWE ‘Raw’ referee Shawn Bennett casually comes out: “Oh yea, I’m gay”
Okay, so maybe it’s not the most progressive response, but it was the ’90s and it absolutely succeeded in shutting the hecklers down.
Michaels got to practice his craft, though, and we much prefer this clip in which he claps back at the homophobes with, “Don’t knock the gay lifestyle unless you’ve tried it!”
shawn michaels inventing gay rights. lgbt community say thank you shawn pic.twitter.com/XvEJDMpxMp
— alexandria (@kayfabepov) March 16, 2019
Again… is it the perfect response? These days most people know to avoid terms like “the gay lifestyle,” but he was definitely improving.
Michaels was forced to step away from the ring in 1998 following a back injury, though he’s since wrestled again. He’s also remained involved with the WWE as a coach and a producer, and is currently Vice President of Talent Development Creative.
And along the way, he’s become an even better ally.
When Darren Young became the first openly gay WWE wrestler in 2013, TMZ asked Michaels for a response.
He basically shrugged off the media attention, saying it was a “big deal” for Young but that it shouldn’t be for everyone else.
Related: Pro wrestler Darren Young reflects on being the first openly gay WWE performer
Michaels even helped one fan realize he was gay, and we’re guessing this is just the tip of the iceberg:
So Shawn michaels was the catalyst of me realizing that I was gay as fuck. No man could beat 97 Shawn. pic.twitter.com/wd2gMUJuvv
— Dnellicious (@Dnellicious) August 18, 2020
johncp56
yes pro wrestling did me in also, hunky guys grabbing each other, i was drooling, now I get hard for stud muffin MMA fighters, compact hot studs
MISTERJETT
i watch pro wrestling for just that reason – to see the hot bodys. knowing that it’s not real, i could never take it seriously like a lot of people do.
scotty
again, who? and more importantly who cares?
MISTERJETT
i guess you think that’s cute. people are always so quick to say “i don’t know who he is” trying to diminish someone ‘s existence. instead of doing that, why not try googling them so you can find out exactly who the person is. you might find that the person is worth knowing about and makes you a little less ignorant
CatholicXXX
That body was toight!
Dont see how that response makes him an ally.
monty clift
The brain rot of how wrestling fans can even think a semi nude magazine profile as “gay” but see nothing gay in their habits of watching semi-clad men sweating and rolling around on each other for hours on end.
TimidTim
Possibly the biggest prick in the history of the entire industry especially during time of the Playgirl shoot. While googling and oogling over the images, check out all the BS he put everyone through including his closest friends. It’s honestly the stuff of legend. He caused riots everywhere he went and not through his “kayfabe” character ala Roddy Piper or Gorgeous George or Freddy Blassie. He was genuinely the biggest piece of human waste and there’s entire documentaries of his antics. That being said it got even worse now that he found Jesus. If you’d ever passed the TBN propaganda channel you’ll see him and Ted Dibiasi and Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger and Sting and Nikita Koloff. In fact Ultimate Warrior and Sting started out in those weightlifting for Jesus power man group’s regularly shown on TBN. Jake the Snake Roberts was at least smart enough to eventually distance himself. So as Jim Cornette would say of Shawn’s former drug addiction, he just traded in one addiction for another.
TimidTim
One of the all time greats with that being said, so give the devil his dues.
abfab
Your post, timmy, almost made me cum. And your point is?
TimidTim
That he’s not an ally. Uh hello?
CityguyUSA
I’ll wait for the Miz.