Kim Turman Laurinaitis, the widow of Road Warrior Animal, has publicly torn into A&E’s new Biography: WWE Legends episode on the Road Warriors, accusing the producers of disrespecting her late husband’s legacy, getting major details of his death wrong, and freezing her out of the project despite being the wrestler’s wife at the time of his death.
The two-hour Biography episode aired on A&E on Sunday as part of the network’s WWE on A&E “Superstar Sunday” block. The episode was directed by Matt Laffey. The interview lineup included Joe Laurinaitis’s second wife Julia (the mother of his children James and Jessica), longtime manager Paul Ellering, Paul Heyman, Magnum T.A., Nikita Koloff, Bret Hart, Sean Waltman, Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, Bruce Prichard, and Hawk’s brothers. Kim Turman Laurinaitis, Animal’s third wife and the wife who was with him the night he died, was not among the interviewees.
Turman Laurinaitis posted her response across multiple Facebook updates Sunday night.
“For all of you, reaching out to me right now, asking if I’m part of the A&E biography, NO HIS ACTUAL WIFE (the one that was with him the nt he died and years before) WAS NOT CONTACTED TO FILM BELIEVE IT OR NOT. THE ONE THAT PAYS FOR THE TRADEMARKS AND IS WORKS TO CONTINUE HIS WISHES AND LEGACY WITH THE LOD EXPERIENCE AND MANY OTHER THINGS BUT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT RESPECT FOR JOE AND THE LOD ROAD WARRIOR RIGHT? Yeah ok believe what you want, I can guarantee you my husband is NOT happy in heaven BUT his story, the REAL story and TRUTH ALL OF IT will come out. This is disgusting literally disgusting at his expense and I will not be quiet anymore. Shame on all involved. THE TRUTH WILL ALWAYS COME OUT. They only did it this way because he was not here, but I still am and we’ll fight for HIS wishes. Do they give out Oscar’s for acting performances in this? WOW.”
She then took issue with how the documentary portrayed the circumstances of Animal’s death.
“WHAT IN THE FCK AM I WATCHING. OMG I AM SO DONE. THIS IS NOT HOW MY HUSBAND DIED AND FYI HE DIED 9/22 AT OUR HOTEL NOT A HOSPTIAL. THEY NEVER TOOK HIM TO A FCKING HOSPITAL, HAD TO TRY TO SAVE HIM IN OUR HOTEL ROOM. I WAS THE ONLY 1 THERE W PARAMEDICS. ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? I HELD HIM FOR OVER AN HR TRYING TO WAIT FOR JESSICA AND LINDSEY BOTH DAUGHTERS TO GET THERE BEFORE THEY TRANSPORTED HIM TO A FUNERAL HOME. WHAT THE FCK IS HAPPENING. I AM ABOUT TO LOSE MY GD MIND RIGHT NOW. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MAD.”
Joe Laurinaitis died on September 22, 2020 at age 60, ten days after his 60th birthday. He was at the Margaritaville Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri with Kim, celebrating their third wedding anniversary, when he suffered a sudden heart attack. Kim was the only family member present when paramedics arrived. The Margaritaville Resort detail is what has been widely reported as the actual location of death across coverage from TMZ, the Wrestling Observer, and the family at the time.
Turman Laurinaitis closed her Facebook posts with what she said was the broader pattern of disrespect Animal had felt in the years before his death.
“Can anyone tell the truth anymore? What fake ass phony people. People pretending to be friends people pretending to tell the truth at my husband’s expense God Almighty help you all that have you used him for the last freaking time. wow wow wow wow no words all of you know y’all just put on a fantastic performance standing ovation for that bullshit show. why didn’t we talk about how disrespected my husband was during his memorial planning, let’s talk about the struggles and how much he went through and cried over the past 10 years about how he had been treated by the people he loved so much. y’all wanna talk about shit that’s not true. Let’s talk about the truth. and what was really important to Joe. Shady ass produced show NOT endorsed by his wife, the one who pays for the trademarks, bills, taxes, etc.”
A&E and WWE have not publicly responded to Turman Laurinaitis’s criticism. Joe Laurinaitis was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 alongside Mike Hegstrand (Road Warrior Hawk) and manager Paul Ellering. Kim Turman Laurinaitis continues to manage the LOD Experience and the Road Warriors trademark rights.
