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Tag: Peter Rosenberg

  • Big E Opens Up On Strict, Fearful Upbringing With Father

    Big E Opens Up On Strict, Fearful Upbringing With Father

    Big E speaks candidly about his strict upbringing and relationship with his father

    Big E opened up about a childhood shaped by fear, describing a household ruled by his stern, frightening father. The former WWE superstar, whose real name is Ettore Ewen, shared the details during an interview on Peter Rosenberg’s Validate Me show on YouTube.

    A Household Walking On Eggshells

    Big E traced his father’s coldness back to his own upbringing in the Caribbean.

    “So, my dad is just a very scary human being. Jamaican immigrant, both my parents are immigrants from the Caribbean. He’s someone who he would talk about his own father and how his dad had another family and he would dote upon that other family. But my dad and his siblings wouldn’t be given food, proper clothes or shoes. He’d beat them all the time,” he said.

    According to Big E, his father used that harsh comparison to justify his own parenting.

    “My dad always thought because he doesn’t beat us all the time, because we do have shoes, because we do have a roof over our head, we have it great. I’m a great dad,” he explained.

    The emotional distance left a lasting mark.

    “There weren’t often we didn’t see him smile or laugh or say I love you. He’s just a very stern man. There’s a lot of anger. We all walked on eggshells in my household. He had the ability just to suck all the air out of a room. And if he was unhappy, everyone else had to be happy.”

    The Generational Cycle And Therapy

    Big E said the effects of that environment carried into adulthood for his entire family.

    “We all had to go to therapy. We all had to work on ourselves. We all had to learn to deal with the trauma that we were dealing with as kids because so much of that stuff just continues to manifest as we get older,” he said.

    Growing Up Apostolic

    Big E connected much of his parents’ long marriage to their shared faith.

    “They’re two people who never should have been together. But because they came up in the same religion, they thought our faith will bond us. They’ve been together for about 41 years. A lot of that has to do with the religion we came up in. I grew up apostolic,” he said.

    He described a strict, all-consuming environment.

    “Very strict in dress. The women in our household didn’t wear makeup, didn’t wear earrings, didn’t wear pants. We lived in church. I’m talking about four to five hours on Sunday, another two hours on Wednesdays, another two hours on Friday. When I’m home, I’m reading the Bible. My dad was a preacher.”

  • Rosenberg Rips Dana White Over Men’s Mental Health Take

    Rosenberg Rips Dana White Over Men’s Mental Health Take

    Peter Rosenberg took aim at Dana White over comments mocking men’s mental health, arguing that vulnerability is the true measure of masculinity. The broadcaster made the remarks on his Validate Me show on YouTube.

    White sparked backlash after publicly railing against open conversations about mental health during an appearance on the Kate Miller Podcast, calling the movement “bullsh-t” and arguing that men should deal with their struggles privately.

    He doubled down in a subsequent interview with Time magazine, mimicking those who speak out about emotional distress. White stated that public vulnerability “opens the door to make young men think that it’s OK,” adding, “Handle it behind closed doors. Don’t show that weakness to anybody.”

    Calling Out Dana White

    Rosenberg quoted the UFC boss dismissing men’s mental health conversations and pushed back hard.

    “I saw a recent quote, Dana White saying something mocking men’s mental health. Men are supposed to be strong. This whole thing of men talking about mental health, that’s woke. Yo, bro, whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better,” Rosenberg said.

    He questioned why anyone would take masculinity lessons from fighters.

    “If you think I’m going to learn about being a man from the yo-yos who get in a cage and beat each other for a salary. Some of those people are absolutely real men, but not because they chose to make their living that way,” Rosenberg said.

    Redefining Masculinity

    Rosenberg argued that treating honesty about struggle as weakness is exactly what is broken in society.

    “The idea that men are in any way weaker because we talk about our shortcomings, because we talk about what makes life hard, that is literally one of the things that is wrong with society. That people view it as weak to talk about the fact that life is hard,” he said.

    He turned the definition of masculinity on its head.

    “What’s not masculine is not being able to talk about real feelings, not being able to own your mistakes. To pretend that it’s masculine to act as if you’re infallible when everybody can see your flaws. That’s being a man? That’s being a joke,” Rosenberg said.

    Rosenberg made the comments before welcoming his guest, WWE superstar Big E, for a wide-ranging conversation about mental health and his upbringing.

  • Big E: Grueling WWE Schedule Made Dating Nearly Impossible

    Big E: Grueling WWE Schedule Made Dating Nearly Impossible

    Big E and Peter Rosenberg during a wrestling interview discussion

    Big E says the demanding WWE road schedule made starting a new relationship feel nearly impossible during his years on the road. The superstar, real name Ettore Ewen, opened up on Peter Rosenberg’s Validate Me show on YouTube.

    Five Shows A Week

    Big E described how little room the schedule left for anything outside of work.

    “Look, we did five shows a week when you’re on those raw loops. So when I’m coming home, I’m sleeping. I am repacking my bag, getting my sushi, watching a few shows and I’m getting out of here again,” he said.

    He noted that some of his peers had a head start on building a foundation.

    “I think what was different for Kofi and Austin is they met their wives before they got to WWE. Trying to start something new when it’s like, hey, maybe I could see you once or twice a month, the idea of it just didn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Big E said.

    Tempted But Never Crossed The Line

    Big E admitted there were moments backstage where things could have gone differently.

    “I have been tempted before and there’ve been some near misses. When things were transitioning. Thankfully that let me not say too much. Nothing happened and these are women that I am dear friends with now and I’m glad nothing happened,” he said.

    He said he was grateful those situations never turned into workplace complications.

    “I’m so thankful things didn’t blow up because I’ve seen instances of these relationships that blow up and then you have to see this person all the time. It’s the worst. I’ve turned a lot of the dalliances or almost relationships into genuine friendships,” Big E said.