AEW star Saraya spoke with Sports Illustrated on a number of topics, including what she hopes to achieve with her memoir “Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives.”
Saraya said, “I want people to be inspired by me. Everyone has their version of my life, you know? And I know I’m quite a controversial figure and [I’ve been] doing my best to be better for the past six years. I wanted to really tell my side of the story with everything, but also help people. Because people don’t realize what’s in this book.”
On the online abuse she has dealt with and other inappropriate behaviors from fans:
“My requested DM’s is the dark web. I do not wanna go in there. I know there will be unsolicited d**k pics. Men do not give a s***. Social media is like a mask to them, so they can do and say whatever they want and get away with it. Which is the crazy part. I’ve had people say they’re gonna rape me, they’re gonna murder me and all this crazy s***. [Women] get it all the time. Even when I tag my friends that aren’t so much in the public eye, they end up getting hounded in their DM’s. I’ve had so many fans come to my house. I had a guy that had no shoes on and a ripped shirt that was trying to get in my house. I’ve had people send stuff to me. People have camped outside my house before. So now I have to put everything under a different name. There’s no way I could have my name on my house.”
On the toxic fandom:
“I have wonderful fans that are great and freaking treat me with respect, you know? And I’m very grateful for my fan base ’cause they’re all great. But you do get the odd weirdo that thinks that they know you so well that they can come into your house or be outside your hotel room or like hunt me down in a hotel room. It is crazy how far some of these fans will go.”
