AEW Fan Shares Purported Tony Khan DMs About Antisemitic Criticism Of Storyline

By Miles Schneiderman
Tony Khan Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Tony Khan's social media posts have been the talk of the online wrestling community this week, as the AEW CEO has been posting to X (formerly known as Twitter) on a regular basis since Monday and drawing no shortage of attention for it. But while Khan's posts have been either directly promotional in nature or harsh words for WWE on a week that saw "AEW Dynamite" and "WWE NXT" go head-to-head in pursuit of the Tuesday night wrestling audience, there's another subject about which he's said nothing at all.

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Wednesday's "Dynamite" featured a segment in which Jewish world champion MJF was verbally targeted by Juice Robinson in allegedly antisemitic fashion, something many have argued is, at the very least, in poor taste considering the current state of international politics. The backlash got bad enough that MJF himself responded to it, but there's been nothing public from Khan. And according to one AEW fan, Khan isn't just ignoring the criticism — he's privately attempting to silence it.

'I don't think quote tweeting TMZ is doing much good.'

Tony Khan waving James Gilbert/Getty Images

On Wednesday, the morning after "Dynamite" aired, an X user named Travis Akers tagged Khan in a post quoting a TMZ article about the angle, which Akers called "tasteless and a horrible decision" and "woven with anti-Semitism." As a result, Akers said, "We changed the channel. AEW lost me as a fan with this one, which sucks because I really enjoyed their product."

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Thursday went by without any follow-up from Akers apart from a vague post about how much he loves wrestling, but on Friday, he posted screenshots purporting to show direct messages from Khan, acknowledging Akers' criticism but saying "I don't think quote tweeting TMZ is doing much good."

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"This is how Tony Khan responded to my critique of using an anti-Semitic storyline," Akers said. "Thousands of fans have expressed disappointment about the poorly-timed angle. This is not how you respond to them." The screenshots also show Akers responding to Khan directly, asking "How often do you slide into a fan's DMs to mock a legitimate critique?" and suggesting Khan address the matter publicly.

'I know exactly who you are in Jacksonville'

Tony Khan smiling Emma Mcintyre/Getty Images

Later, Akers posted an updated screenshot in which Khan appears to say "I know exactly who you are in Jacksonville, that's why I reached out." Akers is a veteran U.S. Navy intelligence officer who is currently running for school board in Duval County, Florida, where Jacksonville is located. AEW was born in Jacksonville, and Khan and his father, Shahid, are co-owners of the city's NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the updated post, Akers responded to Khan publicly with the words "Ok. So then let's keep talking."

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Aker's follow-up posts related to Khan, however, don't suggest that they entered into a reasonable dialogue. Akers would return to the subject with a video in which he opens his DMs and displays the messages from Khan, a response to those who claimed he had faked the messages. Then, later in the day, he added his voice to those saying the best thing Khan can do is put down his phone.

"Someone in Tony Khan's inner circle needs to intervene," Akers wrote. "AEW (including ROH) arguably has the best roster in the world, but Tony's recent behavior online is a detriment to the health of the company. He is alienating fans with his actions. AEW talent deserves better."

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As of this writing, Khan has yet to respond publicly to Akers' posts.

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