Paige On Triple H’s Joke: The Joke Itself Didn’t Upset Me, But It Opened The Door For People To Attack

During a media call before NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, Triple H made a joke at the expense of Paige, saying she might have kids she doesn’t know about. The joke was in reference to a question about Paige and Edge possibly returning to the ring, with Triple H saying the most important thing is their long-term health and ability to be with their families.

Paige immediately called out the joke and was backed by Renee Young, The Bella Twins, Nia Jax, and more. Triple H said he reached out to Paige and later publicly apologized, calling it a “terrible joke.”

Speaking to Lilian Garcia on Chasing Glory, Paige discussed Triple H’s apology and admitted it wasn’t so much the joke that upset her, but more the online bullying that came with the joke.

“It definitely takes a real man or woman to admit a mistake that they made and to publicly go out there and apologize. It takes a lot. You truly don’t mean to offend someone, obviously, and in today’s age, people can get offended like a lot. I don’t mind jokes, honestly, I really don’t. Backstage, I’ll joke all the time and I’m like, ‘You can throw these jokes at me.’ I joke about myself. I don’t care. But if it’s in the media, it opens doors for strangers to do it and that’s not okay. Then I just feel like these people on the internet are bullying me and here comes the cyberbullying, that I just got over. It was chill, there was maybe like one douchebag, there’s always one, that would send something. But it was good and positive. But then, it’s back to square one again.”

She continued, “I know it was just a throwaway joke. Honestly, I wouldn’t be offended by it if it was just us and no camera around, just backstage. I would probably find it funny. The joke itself didn’t really upset me as much as it did that it opened doors for people to just attack me again. I just wanted that door to be closed.”

Paige was the victim of many online attacks following a private tape leaking on the internet. Paige admitted to having thoughts of self-harm during that time. She told Garcia in the interview that she has a stronger support system around her now than she did then and has also grown a lot and knows how to better handle herself in the face of bullying.

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