'Because you're pretty': WWE star hits out at 'disrespectful' farce
WWE star Carmella claims she has to work "twice as hard" as some of her fellow wrestlers because of the way she looks.
Fellow wrestler Mandy Rose recently called for more respect from fans, asking to be talked about for her abilities in the ring rather than her looks.
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Carmella was asked about the comments on her fiance’s 'After the Bell with Corey Graves' podcast, saying Rose had little chance.
“Good luck, because when you’re pretty, that doesn’t happen,” Carmella said, admitting the situation wasn't fair.
“When I got signed in NXT, I remember Bill DeMott said, ‘You’re going to have to work twice as hard as everyone else because you’re pretty'.
“I remember being like, ‘What? That’s crazy'.
“You see all these girls from the past that were gorgeous and these models and all of that, so I was like, 'that’s crazy to hear from a coach'.
“‘You’re going to have to work twice as hard because people aren’t going to respect you because of how you look’.
"And it just blew my mind and I remembered thinking, ‘OK, noted and challenge accepted’. That’s what I did.”
Carmella 'never going to get respect in WWE'
Carmella’s most recent storyline in WWE was based around her appearance, with the 34-year-old declaring herself: “The Most Beautiful Woman in all of WWE".
“No matter what, I’m never going to get the respect that I deserve because of how I look and that’s just how it is,” she said.
“If I didn’t look like this and I had the same matches and same career, people would be like, ‘Carmella is amazing, we love her’.
"Because I look how I do, I’m not going to get the respect that I deserve.”
Carmella, who announced her engagement to Graves this month, recently moved from Smackdown to Raw.
Born Leah Van Dale, Carmella is the daughter of former pro wrestler and Mixed Martial Artist Paul Van Dale.
In 2018 she won the Smackdown women's championship after cashing in the Money in the Bank contract against Charlotte Flair.
Carmella remained champion for 131 days before Flair won a triple-threat match for the title by pinning Becky Lynch.
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