AEW star “Hangman” Adam Page has addressed the backlash he received earlier this month after a photo surfaced of him alongside Marty Scurll (see below), offering detailed comments on the situation and his personal stance.
On January 22, Scurll shared a photo of himself with Page taken in front of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. The image quickly drew criticism from fans, given Scurll’s past controversies.
During the Speaking Out movement in 2020, Scurll was accused of sexually assaulting a minor. Scurll has denied wrongdoing, releasing multiple statements claiming the encounter was consensual. Since then, he has largely remained outside of mainstream professional wrestling, competing primarily for smaller independent promotions around the world.
In an interview with Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated, Page spoke at length about the allegations against Scurll and the context behind the photo that reignited fan reaction.
“I think when that happened, I was obviously surprised. Shocked. It didn’t seem like the person that I knew,” Page said. “But I mean, I knew now that it was, and I guess, I was kind of like, faced with a choice, like what to do with that information. I reached out to him then because he had faced a lot of consequences from the public. He had lost his job from Ring of Honor. He was facing consequences from people online. So, [I] check to see how he’s doing, and I remained in touch with him for, you know what, since then, [has] been six years.”
Page was also clear in condemning Scurll’s alleged actions, stating there was no ambiguity in how he views them.
“I guess I kind of will make a couple things clear about it. I completely recognize that what he did, his actions, are abhorrent. Disgraceful. They are. There’s no excuse. I completely recognize that,” he said. “I’ve always thought that, will always think that about his actions. I guess as a consequence of his actions, the public has felt strongly about what he did, and for six years, I think because of those reactions, he’s been unable to be a part of mainstream professional wrestling because of, you know, what the public perception would be.”
Addressing the viral photo directly, Page stressed that it was not meant to send any kind of message or endorsement.
“I don’t want that photo to seem like some kind of endorsement, or, I have any interest whatsoever in whitewashing what he did, or any interest or intention of rehabilitating his public image. None of that is something that I’ve ever been interested in doing. Not now, not ever,” Page said. “I think that the consequences of his actions that he’s had mostly from the public, aside from, like, harassment, I think they’ve been warranted. So I kind of want to make that clear.”
Page also acknowledged the negative reaction from fans and said he understands why some people may feel uncomfortable.
“If you hear all that, and you listen to all that, and you feel like maybe you wouldn’t have done the same thing had you been in my shoes, or maybe you still feel uncomfortable being a fan of mine, or even if you’ve lost, like, the smallest amount of respect for me because of any of that, I would just want to say I completely understand that,” he said. “I can respect it and accept it.”
When asked why he has continued to maintain a relationship with Scurll following Speaking Out, Page framed it as a personal matter rather than a public statement.
“I guess who I am is, when people treat me with kindness, I try to return it,” Page said. “I have never really wanted to get into that, and that’s more or less why I have a private relationship with him. Not out of a sense of self-preservation or shame, or something like that. But more or less, I just would never want that to be misconstrued as like an endorsement or an effort to rehabilitate someone’s public image, something like that.”
Page concluded by emphasizing that, despite everything, he still views Scurll as a person, while acknowledging the complexity of the situation.
“But I guess I’ve just always thought that he’s still a human being, and that relationships are complicated, but they’re still relationships, and he’s still a human being.”
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