In 2004, World Wrestling Entertainment held the inaugural WWE Diva Search. The television competition was created to recruit new female talent to join the primary WWE roster. The contest aired weekly Monday Night Raw. Thousands of women applied, and ten finalists were selected to participate in live television segments. The winner of the competition received a one-year contract with WWE and a cash prize of $250,000.
Christy Hemme and Carmella DeCesare were the final two remaining contestants in the competition. Hemme was ultimately declared the winner via fan voting. During the weeks leading up to the finale, the contestants participated in various on-screen activities designed to test their television presence and speaking abilities. One specific segment was titled “Diss the Diva,” which required the participating women to deliver verbal insults to one another in the center of the wrestling ring.
During a recent interview on The Velvet Ropes hosted by SoCal Val (scroll down to watch), Christy Hemme discussed the “Diss the Diva” segment and the backstage environment surrounding the television broadcast. Hemme confirmed that the segment was not pre-written by the company’s creative team, which led to authentic reactions from both the talent in the ring and the management personnel positioned backstage. Hemme stated that her specific remarks during the broadcast generated a direct reaction from WWE executive Stephanie McMahon.
“Well, first of all, none of it was scripted. And even the thing, I can’t even repeat what I said. But when I came backstage, I just remember Stephanie McMahon going, ‘Where did you hear that from?!’ Like they just didn’t expect it to come out of my mouth, right?” Hemme said.
Hemme explained the origin of the insults she utilized during the live broadcast. Prior to entering the professional wrestling industry, Hemme spent time working as a dancer, where trading insults was a normalized communication style among her peer group.
“I traveled before going into the Diva Search, I traveled with a dance team of girls. And we were best friends. And we would just throw things at each other just for shock value. And that was one of those things that we just thought that was hilarious, you know,” Hemme stated.
During the unscripted segment, Carmella DeCesare became the primary target for insults from multiple contestants. Hemme detailed the emotional impact the segment had on DeCesare and clarified that the group did not coordinate the remarks beforehand. Hemme also confirmed that she issued an apology to DeCesare following the conclusion of the television broadcast.
“But honestly, none of it was scripted, and it was shocking. And I remember Carmella was really hurt. Like really hurt because I remember we all chose her. And it wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t like the rest of us said, ‘Let’s throw a bunch of insults at Carmella.’ It just happened that way. And I really did feel really bad afterwards because it did hurt her. And I remember apologizing to her sincerely,” Hemme recalled.
Hemme provided additional context regarding the locker room dynamic during the competition. She noted a disparity in the level of interest the participants had for the professional wrestling industry itself, which contributed to DeCesare becoming the focus of the unscripted remarks.
“Carmella really is a good person from what I know. She had a kind heart, she was a sweet girl, totally like someone I would be friends with. Just wasn’t necessarily passionate about wrestling and to be there for that reason. And so that’s why it really fell on her in that way because she was just like a butt of a joke, you know,” Hemme said.
Christy Hemme will be appearing this weekend, February 21st and 22nd, at the For the Love of Wrestling convention. The event is presented by Monopoly Events and will take place at the BEC Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom. Additionally, fans can see Hemme at the Future Shock wrestling show on February 21st, which features a scheduled match between Team Hemme and Team Melina. Check out the entire Christy Hemme interview below.
