
WWE superstar Finn Balor may have lost to Seth Rollins and The Miz at WrestleMania, but he won hearts and minds with his support of LGBT+ rights.
He made his entrance to his match at last night's WrestleMania with rainbow detailing on his trunks while being flanked by members of a New Orleans LGBT+ group.
And he's also revealed a new Balor Club t-shirt with rainbow colours and the slogan "For Everyone".
Forreal Forever Foreveryone https://t.co/uqgLeZW4Bw— Finn Bálor (@Finn Bálor) 1522696237
Balor and WWE have also announced that a portion of sales from his new t-shirt will go to GLAAD, which is a charity that “rewrites the script for LGBT+ acceptance”.
Of the decision, Balor wrote:
Everyone deserves to be accepted and included!
WWE is proud to announce that a portion of sales from my new shirt will benefit @GLAAD. Everyone deserves to be acc… https://t.co/zRc9oLaeJz— Finn Bálor (@Finn Bálor) 1522696332
Professional wrestling has often been criticised for its hyper-masculine portrayal of men. One Twitter account tracking “sexism in the wrestling community”wrote:
Toxic masculinity is a huge issue in wrestling and one we really should be talking about more. It's constantly reinforced by the culture of wrestling.
Wrestling has a history of looking down on perceived weakness and those who don't fit a certain mold [sic] got bullied or were considered inferior.
It's good that things are changing and that wrestlers are changing, but there's still a long way to go. And that includes the online community, where toxic masculinity can make it hard for people to fit in.
Lots of people online are seeing Balor’s open support of the LGBT+ community as a step in the right direction.
They’re praising the Irish wrestler.
@FinnBalor @glaad Bless you Finn— Shanikastevens46iclo (@Shanikastevens46iclo) 1522724570
@FinnBalor @glaad This is the kind of love we need and appreciate. 🏳️🌈♥️— Alex (He/Him) 📉 (@Alex (He/Him) 📉) 1522697034
And calling him an LGBT+ 'icon'.
@FinnBalor @glaad LGBT ICON https://t.co/vmVVFq3Mdt— 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐚🥀 (@𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐚🥀) 1522696419
@FinnBalor Finn you will never know how much posting that means to me as a gay person training to be a professional… https://t.co/Fw15pVbOK6— Daniel Thomas (@Daniel Thomas) 1519387091
People are really happy that he's "not afraid to go against the grain".
@FinnBalor Love you Finn forever 💓💓💓😘😘😘😘😘 https://t.co/BLsUMT7aPp— Ruchi Balorclub forever 😊❤ (@Ruchi Balorclub forever 😊❤) 1519386881
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