wrestling / News

Ad Campaign Starring Ric Flair Paused Over Dark Side of the Ring Allegations

September 17, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Ric Flair WrestleMania 24 Image Credit: WWE/Peacock

Ric Flair’s ad campaign with Car Shield has been paused following allegations made on last night’s Dark Side of the Ring. PWInsider has obtained a statement from ad agency Intermedia, confirming that the campaign has been paused.

The “Plane Ride From Hell” episode that aired last night (see our full report of the show here) featured flight attendant Heidi Doyle stating that Flair cornered her in the galley of the plane during the infamous flight from London to the US while naked but for a robe and harassed her, including putting her hand on his privates. Rob Van Dam stated in the episode that he witnessed the incident, which Doyle says went on for at least several minutes, and Dustin Runnels was said by Doyle to have eventually been the only person to intervene and get Flair to back off.

The statement from Intermedia reads:

“We take these matters very seriously. As of right now, we are pausing the campaign and we will do our due diligence.”

PWInsider reports that there is no timetable for when the ads will return and that, pending additional investigation, the commercial will soon be pulled.

Flair made mention of the upcoming Dark Side of the Ring episode on Renee Paquette’s podcast earlier this week (per POST Wrestling), saying, “God, I’ve heard about it too. Just when things are going good for me. Listen, you [Renee Paquette] put me on your podcast after. We’ll see how it plays out, because I was there and I don’t care whose name I gotta drop if the heat falls on me. I know who was where and what and who and what took place. I know the whole story.”