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A Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization is saying Jacob Fatu no-showed a charity wrestling event and has not returned money he was pre-paid for the show.
Representatives for Jake's Network of Hope spoke with NBC 26 news on Thursday and alleged Fatu has "ghosted" them after failing to appear at its Hits For Hope fundraiser in April.
“Jacob called and said that there was a family emergency. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. At Jake's, we are 100% about family and I said, ‘if you can't make it, that's fine,’” said Jake's Network of Hope Director of Development, Jenn Harper.
“We rescheduled the flight that he missed originally, and about an hour after that flight took off, we were made aware from him that he wasn't coming. After that, he ghosted us, he ghosted the production team that puts together the wrestling show, and he ghosted the person that booked him for us," Harper said.
Harper continued to say the organization had already pre-paid Fatu $1030 for the appearance. They also spent $548 on his hotel, $657 on his initial flight, $348 on the rescheduled flight, which Harper says was made at his request, and an additional $50 on posters for him to autograph at the show. The total amount the organization says it is out as a result is $2633.
Harper also said that a "major name" from Fatu's family reached out to her regarding the incident and promised to attend the nonprofit's event next year. Jacob Fatu is the son of Samuel Fatu (The Tonga Kid/Tama) and is part of the Anoaʻi family dynasty. However, Harper did not reveal who from Fatu's family contacted her.
The nonprofit organization continued to say they were inspired to speak out about the incident after reading of others who had similar experiences with Fatu. NBC is reporting Pro Wrestling KING in South Bend, Indiana is also alleging Fatu ghosted them in regard to a show on June 3.“It was kind of really out of the blue to get a phone call from somebody of that magnitude to say, ‘hey, what can we do? How can we help?’” Harper said.
Fatu is featured in promotional material for the Hits for Hope fundraiser alongside Billy Gunn, Brian Pillman Jr, Tatanka, and Vampiro, who all worked the event."That's why at Jake's we decided that we wanted to speak up alongside of these organizations, so that this didn't continue to happen to other people," Harper said.