Former WCW and WWE star Chris Kanyon went on “The Howard Stern Show” following his release from WWE in February 2004. On the show, Kanyon proclaimed that he believed he was fired from the company because he wanted to come out publicly as a gay man on television. Kanyon called Vince McMahon homophobic in the interview, as well as an “evil f*** and an evil prick.”

Kanyon explained to Stern that he believed McMahon initially saw him as talented because he put two belts on him at the same time, and McMahon had him training other wrestlers when he was out injured. It was during that injury, however, that Kanyon said he began to tell other wrestlers and those backstage that he was thinking about coming out openly. When he got back from injury, Kanyon said that McMahon made him dress up like Boy George in an angle, and come out of a physical closet in the ring just to be beaten up by The Undertaker. He said he took that as a message, “come out of the closet, we’ll beat the s*** out of you.”

A few shows down the line, Kanyon once again appeared in studio, and while he was there, Ric Flair called in to dispute Kanyon’s claim he was fired by WWE because he was gay. Flair said he was disappointed in “Chris as a person” for saying WWE fired him because he was gay, and said that he thought Kanyon had shortcomings in the ring and he didn’t have an act. That’s when the pair began debating, with Kanyon saying that the “act” depended on the storylines you were given. Flair said he didn’t think that anything that happened to Kanyon in WWE had anything to do with his sexuality, but rather he “didn’t have anything to give to the show.”