This week’s AEW Dark was supposed to be a celebration as All Elite Wrestling’s YouTube series hit 100 episodes. But if you were paying attention to social media on Tuesday night you probably noticed fans were suddenly furious with the promotion. During the episode, Anthony Bowens and Max Caster (The Acclaimed) made their way down to the ring for a multi-team tag match while the latter rapped about his opponents. Caster has been known for pushing the envelope with his lyrics in the past, but his latest rap mentioned Simon Biles stepping away from the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health, the infamous 2006 Duke Lacrosse rape case (the show was in North Carolina) and questioning the validity of rapid COVID tests.
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The entrance aired when the episode first premiered on YouTube, but has since been edited out. Some Twitter uses managed to capture the video prior to its deletion, which you can watch here if you’re inclined. Many fans started calling for Caster to be reprimanded for the offensive comments.
Really disappointed in AEW and Max Caster for not only airing a promo that used a serious sexual assault case as a part of it, but for even allowing it to be said in the first place.
I get heels need heat, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of actual victims. Do better.
— Jessi Davin (@jessithebuckeye) August 4, 2021
Great Heels today don’t ever need to resort to cheap heat because they are proficient in their art & natural psychologists.
Using sexual assault & emotional/mental illnesses for reactions show that you’re inept in this field. Btw, Julia Hart is 19 & Max Caster is 32
— Satta ✨🍷 (@SattaLaFleur) August 4, 2021
Max Caster’s rap was the f—ing s—. Ugly, witless, irresponsible. That it made air suggests total incompetence in one arm of a company that is aggressively expanding. This is bad. Left unchecked, and it just might, more disasters like this await.
— Sidgwick (@MSidgwick) August 4, 2021
AEW president Tony Khan then appeared on Busted Open Radio on Wednesday and chastised Caster over the incident. He said the lyrics were not cleared with him ahead of time, and that Khan will be in charge of editing the pre-taped episodes AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation going forward.
“Last night on Dark, Max Caster’s rap was terrible. I was not out there when he did it, it was not during Dynamite. I was out back when Max had said this rap. I had not heard it until last night, truthfully. In the editing process it should have been caught. We deleted the episode and reposted it with that edited out, but it shouldn’t have aired. I put such tight controls on Dynamite and this never would’ve happened there. Max, his raps, I’ve always gone over them with him and frankly every segment on Dynamite I don’t script or write wrestlers’ promos, but the bullet points I give. In this case it shouldn’t have happened and going forward I will be taking over the editing of Dark and Dark: Elevation myself…. it’s unfortunate that it came to that.”
“Going forward, I will be taking care of the editing of Dark and Elevation myself.”@TonyKhan addresses Max Caster’s controversial promo on #AEWDark last night 🔊@davidlagreca1 @THETOMMYDREAMER @AEW #AEWDynamite #AEW pic.twitter.com/FErCnhWin7
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 4, 2021
