AEW star Deonna Purrazzo spoke candidly about her experience with online negativity and body shaming, sharing how her perspective has evolved through a difficult but empowering journey. During an appearance on WrestlingNews.co’s “The Velvet Ropes with SoCal Val,” Purrazzo detailed the mental shift required to overcome the impact of hateful comments. (Scroll down to watch the interview). She acknowledged that even among countless positive interactions, a single negative voice can feel overwhelming, stating, “That one person that’s rude is the person who stands out the most, and that’s what’s so sad about it.”
Purrazzo identified a specific turning point in her perspective that began after she joined AEW. The experience of meeting fans in person and feeling their genuine appreciation helped her re-evaluate where she placed her emotional energy. “For me, it really shifted… where I was then, like, meeting fans, and, you know, they’re so nice, and they are so appreciative of my body of work,” she explained. “I really try to to value my fans and the time and the the support that they’ve given me throughout my whole career.”
This shift led to a crucial realization: the people leaving hateful comments were not the same people who were genuinely investing in her career. “I had to realize thathese people who comment, I’m fat, you’re a pig, you’re disgusting, lose weight, maybe then you’ll get booked. Like all of these comments are not my actual supporters,” Purrazzo stated. She mentally separated the trolls from her fans, concluding, “That person is not paying to come watch me wrestle. They’re not buying a ticket to Dynamite… Those aren’t the people, and I don’t need to focus on those people.”
This newfound perspective did not develop overnight. Purrazzo was open about the work it took to build up her self-confidence and change her response to negativity. She now engages with critics on her own terms. “I like to poke fun at those people on social media and clap back… I like to have fun with it now, but it’s taken me a lot of like therapy to get to that point,” she revealed. “It’s taken a lot of conversations with my friends and my husband and my family to get to that point, to be this strong.”
As a concrete example of her current approach, she shared a recent interaction on social media. After someone commented that she “must be stuffing your face with cheesecake,” Purrazzo said she wrote back, “but you’re sitting at home commenting on my Instagram.” It’s this type of direct, confident response that now defines her interactions with negativity.
Ultimately, Purrazzo’s message is one of empowerment and taking back control from anonymous critics. By putting in the personal work, she has been able to neutralize their impact on her well-being. “No one on Twitter is is keeping me up anymore at night. No one on Twitter is making me cry anymore at night,” she affirmed. “I’m not giving them the power because, because they’re not being supportive in other aspects, they don’t deserve it.”
Purrazzo also uses her platform to champion causes she is passionate about. Alongside her husband, Steve Maclin, a United States Marine Corps veteran, she is a vocal supporter of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. She detailed the organization’s work, stating it supports the nation’s first responders and injured veterans by taking on a critical mission: “All of those proceeds go towards paying off mortgages for families who have lost… first responders in the line of duty.” Purrazzo also highlighted the foundation’s efforts to “eradicate veteran homelessness” by building villages to provide housing and medical access for veterans. Click here to check out the full interview with Deonna Purrazzo.
On September 28th, @SteveMaclin and I will
be participating in the @Tunnel2Towers 5k!As our second event with T2T, we are so excited to continue to spread awareness for our nations first responders & veterans.
Please consider making a donation thru my page! 🇺🇸❤️…
— The Virtuosa (@DeonnaPurrazzo) August 22, 2025
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
