Brooke Hogan is pushing back after a tribute post dedicated to her late father, Hulk Hogan, sparked criticism online over a bikini photo taken at the beach.
According to BuzzFeed, the post, shared from Clearwater Beach, featured Brooke reflecting on memories of her father and their connection to the ocean. “Needed some time with my thoughts, my daddy, and the ocean he loved so much,” she wrote. “Every wave hit my heart like a memory that felt like it was yesterday.”
But instead of focusing on the caption, much of the online reaction centered on the first image in the carousel, which showed Brooke lying on the beach in a swimsuit. After being accused of posting a “thirst trap” while mourning her father, Brooke responded with a second post directly addressing the backlash.
“Trust me, if I wanted to give you a thirst trap, you would have gotten one,” she wrote. “I grew up in swimsuits. I understand that not a lot of the world gets that. But this is my home. This is me. This is one of many days I grieved my dad.”
The follow-up post included edited images comparing different body types, along with screenshots from the original beach tribute. Brooke questioned whether the reaction would have been different if she looked different physically, asking followers if the post would have been viewed as “more sincere” under different circumstances.
“Shame on anyone for demonizing it,” she added. “I am human. My father was human.”
The tribute itself painted a deeply personal picture of her relationship with Hogan before their estrangement in the final years of his life. Brooke described memories of being on boats with him, swimming in the ocean, and spending childhood days in the Florida sun.