Joey Ryan denies sexual assault allegations in long video rant, Angry Internet calls him 'fu****g psychopath'
Independent wrestler Joey Ryan reactivated his social media accounts on July 18 to address the sexual assault allegations against him. After his name had popped up during the #SpeakingOut movement, several women came forward with their stories, accusing Ryan of sexual misconduct. These claims resulted in Ryan being dismissed from IMPACT Wrestling on June 22, and his own promotion, BAR wrestling shutting down. He uploaded a lengthy video titled "Addressing the Allegations Against Me,” on his YouTube channel saying he was setting the record straight for the sake of his fans, and pleaded with them to continue rendering him their support throughout these turbulent times.
You can watch the video here.
As reported, one of the allegations made against him was by wrestler Corrine Mink who said she once picked Ryan up from an airport for a show and he groped her while she was driving. At least 16 women came forward with their own accounts detailing how he had treated them during wrestling events, travel, and post-show events. Following the sexual assault allegations made against him, Ryan said he had spoken to his lawyer who advised him not to comment on them at the time. He later disappeared from social media entirely, only to resurface on July 18 to deny the accusations made against him and even claimed that he had evidence to back his response.
"The reason I've been silent thus far is that my therapist asked me to take a mental health break from social media and my attorney asked me not to comment on any of the allegations because of the severity of some of them until he had a chance to review them and review all of the evidence that I have to dispute them," Ryan said in the 58-minute YouTube video. "And since no legal action is being taken, I'm going to address them in this video." He deems the allegations from the women were fabrication just for the #SpeakingOut movement, and that he has been diligently attending weekly therapy sessions since he separated from his wife two years ago.
"I also felt like it was important to respect the movement and allow these women the opportunity to speak and be heard about how they feel and how they felt but I do believe people should be held accountable for fabricating stories or changing the narrative of stories just so they can be a part of the movement," Ryan elaborated in the video. "I do want to make one thing perfectly clear, I have never had sex with a woman without her consent." He also said that he had evidence that proved he had never acted "criminally with sex."
"By the amount of buzz when all these allegations started, I thought I was going crazy because I was reading all these stories about me that were very very very different from how I remember them happening it's only when I went back and read old text messages and old direct messages and looked up old receipts that I found that I have actual clear-cut evidence to dispute nearly every single one of these allegations against me," he added.
Ryan also addresses his IMPACT Wrestling status in the video, stating that a clause in the contract notes he can't be fired for any actions that occurred prior to him signing the deal. Since all the accusations were alleged to have taken place before he signed the deal, he added that he is considering legal action. In addition, Highspots took down all of Ryan's content that he could monetize on their app. "I also want it clear that I have always been able to separate business from my personal life," continued in his lengthy video. "I have never used any clout or any kind of influence I have in wrestling to get people to do anything that they don't want to do or I've never used it for personal gain."
However, Twitter users were having none of it and Ryan and his video were subject to instant backlash on the social media platform. "I just want everyone to know that Joey Ryan is a piece of s**t and I’m disgusted that I ever supported him," said a fan, over a tweet. "There’s nothing more masturbatory than Joey Ryan thinking we’re gonna devote an hour of our time listening to him try to cop pleas," another added. "Joey Ryan should be in a jail cell next to Buck Zumhofe," a fan wrote in a tweet, while another commented, "Joey Ryan you f***ing psychopath."
"Joey Ryan can honestly go and take his apology and f**k himself with it. You’re a disgrace to all wrestling and an even bigger disgrace as a person," a rankled fan wrote. "I have as much desire to watch the Joey Ryan video as I do to boil myself alive in bleach, which is incidentally what I would have to do if I watched the video. No thx," said another user.
"I watched a bit of the Joey Ryan thing because I’m stupid. After addressing each allegation he’ll say something like 'if you want an idea of her character' and then just attack the women. He’s disgusting," a user observed, while another added, "If you have 58 minutes to listen to Joey Ryan on a Saturday evening please take a hard look at your life choices." One fan noticed that unlike his usual bearded appearance, Ryan was clean-shaven in this video: "Joey ryan shaving the mustache to look like less of a sex pest is amazing visual comedy."