Brooke Hogan has no time for the haters criticizing how she is grieving the death of her father, Hulk Hogan.
“Trust me, if I wanted to give you a thirst trap, you would have gotten one,” Brooke, 38, wrote via Instagram on Friday, May 22. “If I were a surfer, a swim instructor, heavier [or] thinner … would it be less shocking? I grew up in swimsuits.”
She continued, “I understand that not a lot of the world gets that, but this is my home. This is me. This is one of many days I grieved my dad.”
Brooke recently went to the beach, sharing a bikini picture of herself on the sand on Wednesday, May 20.
Brooke Hogan Reacts to Speculation She Loves ‘Spotlight’ After Hulk’s Death
“Needed some time with my thoughts, my daddy and the ocean he loved so much,” she captioned her selfie at the time. “Every wave hit my heart like a memory that felt like it was yesterday. The waves carried the bass in his voice, the salt water felt like his hugs. The smell of the ocean smelled like so many days on the boat we spent together.”
Brooke’s post soon inspired an onslaught of criticism about her two-piece swimsuit juxtaposed with the emotional message.
“Shame on anyone for demonizing it. I am a human. My father was human,” Brooke wrote on Friday, addressing the haters. “And you people have the nerve to act like you’re experts on ANY topic or know anything about my experience with him? Even my closest family has no clue what I know and have experienced.”
She concluded, “You come at me with your ignorant opinions and nasty comments hiding behind your screens? Go back under your bridge, trolls.”
Hulk died in July 2025 after suffering a heart attack at age 71. The famed wrestler is survived by his wife, Sky Daily, as well as his children and grandchildren. (Hulk shared Brooke and her brother, Nick Hogan, with ex-wife Linda Hogan.
Read Brooke Hogan’s Letter to ‘Dearest Daddy’ Hulk Hogan After His Death
Linda, 66, and Nick, 35, both attended Hulk’s funeral weeks later, while Brooke opted against attending the memorial service.
“My father hated the morbidity of funerals. He didn’t want one,” Brooke wrote via Instagram in August 2025. “And although I know people grieve in many ways — and I’m so grateful for all celebrations and events organized to honor him, as his daughter, I had to make my own decision to honor him the best and most genuine way I knew how … privately. Daddy, we honored you in the simplest way that agreed with my soul. We took our babies to the beach.”
Brooke and her husband, Steven Oleksy, are parents of twins Oliver and Molly.
