Entertainment
Dark Side of the Ring: The Rock applauds Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts for opening up on harrowing childhood abuse
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has praised Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and his siblings for opening up in Dark Side of the Ring.
The WWE legend shared a moving message after the harrowing episode In The Shadow of Grizzly Smith aired this week, and he hailed the family’s ‘bravery’ as they opened up on the alleged abuse they suffered at the hands of their father.
He wrote: ‘It’s a very hard watch but man it’s an important one.
‘I applaud the Smith family – Jake, Robin, Mike (Sam) – for having the bravery to speak out on the deep pain they experienced as kids – and the motivation to help those who’ve experienced that level of trauma as well.
‘Thanks to my good friends at @vicetv for sending me season3 of DSOTR. And big respect to my squared circle brother, Jake Roberts for his sobriety going on many years now.
‘I’ll always root for my wrestling family/community to overcome challenging odds and win.’
The siblings candidly recounted tales from their childhood in the episode, and Jake – now working for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) – noted how their late father didn’t reveal the true nature of the industry.
It meant his children believed the storylines and scripted injury angles were real, and Jake admitted he often ‘cried [himself] to sleep’ in fear for his dad’s safety.
‘My father was a mean man, mean in the way that he tortured you psychologically,’ he said during the documentary.
‘He would play the angle out at home – his injuries, his feeling of the upcoming match, how dangerous this match was going to be with those guys. I look back now – why did I not figure it out?
‘They kept showing up to the same territory my dad would go to every damn time – “What the hell?! These guys are chasing my father down, they’re gonna kill him!”
‘I remember crying myself to sleep many a night thinking my dad was gonna die – and that bastard never told us anything.’
*Dark Side of the Ring airs on VICE TV. Series one and two are available on All4.
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