Hulk Hogan: Ex is lying about his drug use

Pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan responded Tuesday to claims by his ex-wife, Linda Hogan, on the "Today" show that his abuse of performance-enhancing drugs made him violent and caused her to fear for her life.

"He did change. It changed him," she told Matt Lauer. After his rages, she said: "He did not feel remorse, and to this day he's never apologized for any of his actions. That is something that scared me. I did not want to be a statistic like Nicole Simpson."

"The stuff she said about me is a total, blatant lie," Hulk Hogan, who was born Terry Bollea, told radio personality Todd Alan Clem later in the day on his syndicated "The Bubba the Love Sponge Show," which is based at a Sarasota, Fla., station near Bollea's home.

"I hate to be mean, but I really have to take a step back and take a really good look at this," Bollea said. "If you take the Hulk Hogan name out of her situation, her life, her career . . . she's out of gas. She's still riding on the Hulk Hogan name."

Linda Hogan -- who with her family starred in the 2005-2007 VH1 reality show "Hogan Knows Best" -- told Lauer she'd kept quiet about the drug use since, she said, "Drugs were always around -- prescribed" for wrestlers.

"It's a very scary position. You don't know how far they're going to go. One fight can escalate and turn into something you don't want," she said.

Bollea's manager, Ladd Biro, told Newsday: "All I will say on the matter is that I've known Terry for many, many years, and he is one of the nicest, most genuine and respectful men I've ever had the pleasure of working with. The person Linda describes bears no resemblance to the man I know."