Hulk Hogan says he wanted to kill himself during 'n-word' scandal that saw him get fired from the WWE

The wrestler apologises for the racial slur but blames his rural upbringing

Hulk Hogan (Getty)

Hulk Hogan has said he contemplated suicide over the N-word scandal that cost him his career earlier this year.

An interview with Hogan on SiriusXM from 2012 emerged online in July, in which he used the racial slur when describing . It quickly went viral and Hogan was subsequently fired from the WWE.

Though Hogan, real name Terry Gene Bollea, issued an apology, he came under fire again for wondering aloud why President Obama could use the word and he couldn't.

Speaking to Good Morning America, he said "I was to the point where I wanted to kill myself, you know?

"I was completely broken and destroyed and said 'What’s the easiest way out of this?' I mean, I was lost."

He says he understood that his behaviour was wrong and he was "embarrassed" by the incident, but tried to explain how his upbringing and his background in rural Tampa shaped his understanding of what was and what wasn’t acceptable.

"People need to realise that you inherit things from your environment. And where I grew up was south Tampa, Port Tampa, and it was a really rough neighbourhood, very low income. And all my friends, we greeted each other saying that word."

Hogan is due back in court in October 20, when his lawsuit against Gawker will go to trial.