Andrew Yang has weighed in on the controversy surrounding TKO’s handling of WWE, offering a pointed critique that touched on the company’s creative direction, its use of celebrities and advertising, and the wave of talent releases that followed WrestleMania 42.
The former Democratic presidential candidate and entrepreneur posted on X on Sunday, directing his criticism squarely at TKO Group Holdings, the parent company formed in 2023 through the merger of WWE and UFC.
“It seems that TKO has really screwed up WWE and WrestleMania with ads and celebs and getting away from the heart of pro wrestling, and talented performers are paying the price,” Yang wrote.
The post appeared to reference both the widely criticized celebrity involvement in this year’s WrestleMania programming, which included Pat McAfee’s insertion into the Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton main event angle at the direction of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel rather than WWE creative, and the release of 25 wrestlers in the days following the event.
Yang is no stranger to commenting on WWE’s corporate practices. In September 2020, he called out then-WWE owner Vince McMahon for what he described as “pure greed” in cracking down on talent having independent deals with services like Twitch and Cameo. That comment came during an appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s wrestling podcast.
Yang ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat before later leaving the party to become an independent and founding the Forward Party in 2021. During his 2020 campaign, he built a dedicated following known as the Yang Gang that included comedian Dave Chappelle.
It seems that TKO has really screwed up WWE/Wrestlemania with ads and celebs and getting away from the heart of pro wrestling – and talented performers are paying the price.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) April 26, 2026
