Former WWE Superstar Layla reveals her initial reaction to the controversial “Piggy James” angle.
WWE aired a controversial segment on the November 20, 2009, episode of SmackDown, in which Layla and Michelle McCool gave Mickie James the nickname “Piggy James,” targeting her as overweight. James was visibly upset and teared up during the segment. It received massive backlash from fans, who blasted it for being mean-spirited and poorly conceived.
During her recent appearance on the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Layla shared her initial reaction to the segment when WWE creative presented it to her. While she was shocked at first, she was grateful that the promotion was giving the female stars a significant storyline and TV time, regardless of its nature. However, she was also concerned about Mickie James’ feelings.
“When we were told about the first, like, pre-tape, and then the actual segment, I was kind of shocked, to be honest with you. I was surprised. But at the same time, I was also like, oh wow, at least they’re investing in a diva segment. So they’re giving us some time, and they were giving us a storyline that meant a lot. Regardless of what the storyline was, they were actually giving the girls a storyline. So I was grateful, but also kind of looking at Mickie, is she okay with this?” Layla said.
Layla says Divas got heat for the first time due to the segment
Speaking further, Layla said the segment came at a time when female WWE stars were judged primarily based on their physical appearance. However, she says she values it because it generated genuine heat. This allowed the women’s division to build a compelling storyline on SmackDown.
“No, I know that (Mickie James was never overweight). You got to remember, I think, especially in that time, in that era, it was like women, we were always made fun of. Our weight was so important to us. And there were certain things that we could get away with in that era that you could ever get away with now. So I think it was a very touchy story to some people. But I’m very glad that it happened, because it was the first time ever that divas got heat,” Layla continued.
“They wanted to beat us up at live events. Like literal women wanted to beat us up, like they really believed that we were, you know, and not only that, I think that, like, Mickie did amazing. That storyline, if you look at it, it was great, it was the first time the Divas section, especially on SmackDown, we had something,” Layla said.
Michelle McCool has also spoken about the segment in the past, revealing that she apologized to Mickie James every week after it aired.
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