Kimo wants apologies
MMA star Kim “Kimo” Leopoldo has admitted that he is searching for answers and apologies, following false death reports.
Several websites around the US reported of Leopoldo’s death earlier this week.
“We’re so conditioned to believe what’s in the media that I had to look in the mirror a few times to make sure I was alive,” Leopoldo told MMAjunkie.com Radio’s George Garcia.
“It’s strange reading in print your obituary and you’re not dead yet.”
“It was pretty scary,” Leopoldo continued. “I mean after the initial shock of reading that, then you start thinking these superstitious things like, ‘Do they know something I don’t know? Is this like a prediction of the future of what’s going to happen to me?’
“A lot of things run through your head.”
“I feel I’ve been misrepresented by the media for my entire career,” Leopoldo continued. “On the internet, a lot of websites are not really held accountable for the things they say. It’s not really like a newspaper that has a governing authority.
“When I tell people, ‘Oh, that’s not true,’ everybody is like, ‘Yeah, right. It’s written right here. How can it not be true?’”
“[TMZ] actually confirmed my death,” Leopoldo said. “They were the only people to actually say ‘Kimo is confirmed to be passed away.’ That right there really affected my friends, my family, my loved ones – not to mention my fans – because when they confirmed it, people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s really true.’
“TMZ makes money off of damaging people’s reputations, off of quickly reporting things without having factual confirmation.”
“The only remorse I got was from KTLA when I did the press conference,” Leopoldo added. “They felt bad. They actually did a pretty good report on me on the news last night that I felt did me justice. As far as all these other reports and websites, not one of them has recanted their statements. Not one of them has apologized. Not one of them has shown any kind of apologetic response.
“What bothers me is that I’m the kind of guy you can step on me and get away with it. But if you’re messing with someone I love, now you’ve got me wanting to come at you. That’s what really bothers me because a lot of my loved ones were crying all day long because they’re believing this, and I couldn’t get hold of everyone simultaneously. It’s overwhelming, and it’s sad. That just shows you a little bit of the media’s power and their attitude.”
