Priscilla Kelly on How Her Strict Upbringing Played Into Her Wrestling Persona, How Wrestlers Should be Treated Equally Regardless of Gender or Sexuality

– As previously noted, WrestlingInc.com recently interviewed independent wrestler and former Mae Young Classic competitor Priscilla Kelly. Below are some additional highlights from WrestlingInc.com.

Kelly on her appearance on My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding and her actual upbringing: “No disrespect to that TV show, but it was very much a fake story going into that. It was supposed to be one thing but it ended up being very scripted and not what we expected it to be. … Everyone thinks that show was so true and accurate about how life really is. It’s completely false; everyone still thinks I was trying to find a husband at 14 and that was the biggest lie. But I did grow up very strict and wasn’t allowed to date or allowed to go out. I didn’t have my first real boyfriend until I was 16 and that was hush-hush and I wasn’t allowed to tell my parents. I was basically shamed from any type of sexuality and that does travel into my wrestling persona. That’s why I became who I became. I was under such a strict household that I wanted to express myself.”

Kelly on wanting to express that women want to be treated equally: “Women don’t have to be shamed for anything different than men. That’s all I wanted to tell was that we want to be treated equally.”

Kelly on if young gypsy girls have reached out to her after the show: “Some of them, but a lot of the times they’re still stuck in that bubble. They were raised one way their whole life so they think what I do is horrible and that I’m a horrible person. But there are some that reach out to me and think it’s awesome that I’m doing my own thing. So it’s good to see different sides of it.”

Kelly on LGBTQ talent not being taken seriously in the business and not getting booked year-round: “I feel a lot of people want to do what’s cool in the moment, but they’re not talking about things 24/7…It’s only because it’s LGBTQ – it’s June [Pride Month] so let’s talk about it. We should always embrace that and talk about it. … It’s sad to hear that you can’t be taken seriously because of your look or sexuality. I think it’s something that a light needs to be shined on, so he hit the point with everything he said.”

Priscilla Kelly on how people should be pushed based on their talent: “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to say because I don’t wanna speak on anyone’s behalf because I’m not LGBTQ myself. I feel like everyone needs to be given a chance equally whether you’re gay, straight, man or woman. The most important thing that I wanna put out there is that everybody deserves a chance and at the end of the day, people should be getting booked and getting pushed based on their talent, no matter who they are.”