Kayla Braxton spent nearly eight years as a face of WWE programming, and on the latest episode of TMZ Inside the Ring, the former host and interviewer spoke candidly about how often she felt unsafe around fans during that run.
Braxton, who now goes by her real name, Kayla Becker, said the level of access some fans feel entitled to has become a genuine problem, describing behavior that followed her well beyond the arena.
“The boundaries, that accessibility that they have, I think is a real problem,” Braxton said. “They shouldn’t be able to show up to your baggage claim or wait for you at the airports or follow you up to your rooms at the hotels. Like, these things need to be stopped, but I don’t know, they just keep happening.”
She said the issue was at its worst during WrestleMania week in Las Vegas, and that it affected the entire roster. “There was too many times like I felt really unsafe,” she said. “A lot, all the girls, and the guys. And again, it’s like they have this sense of accessibility, so it’s gonna get worse.”
Braxton offered one example that she said played out repeatedly, involving fans who would use their own children to pressure talent into signing autographs they intended to resell.
“Going to the airport at 5 a.m., leaving a SmackDown, and having some dude with 40 bikini photos of me with their child right next to them. I should be in bed,” she said. “Because they know if they have their kid with them, we might not say no to them. Like, get a clue.” Asked if that was a real occurrence, she said it was constant. “Oh, it happened every single week.”
Braxton said she eventually adopted an approach taught to her by Nikki Cross to deal with autograph resellers, agreeing to sign only one item and personalizing it so it could not easily be flipped for profit. “Here’s a courtesy that I don’t even owe you,” she said of the mindset, “but I’m not about to make you a bunch of money to sign and sell more photos of me.”
Her comments add to an ongoing conversation in wrestling about talent safety and the boundaries between performers and fans, an issue that has drawn increased attention over the past year.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit TMZ Inside the Ring with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
