Pro Wrestler Tweets to Homophics: 'Drink Bleach'

WWE pro wrestler C.M. Punk used Twitter to stand up for marriage equality but simultaneously lashed out against followers who do not endorse same-sex marriage.

"Making same sex marriage illegal is the same as having segregated drinking fountains," Punk tweeted after North Carolina voters approved to amend a constitution to define marriage between only a man and a woman. "Embarrassing. The human race is embarrassing #evolve."

Punk also said, "So many stupid people. Bigots. Talking about what's 'natural.'"

Some of the athlete's followers apparently did not feel the same and tweeted their thoughts to him.

"Man was meant for woman, and even the thought of homo's make me sick." one follower wrote. Punk fired back and responded with "Kill yourself." The Christian website LifeSiteNews points out that he told another follower that they should "drink bleach."

Soon after the tweet Punk apologized and said, "I was pretty worked up today. The amendment 1 situation had me all wound up. I stand by my thoughts on gay marriage 100%. How I defended that stance was 100% wrong. I admit it. You can't stoop to others' levels. Sometimes I fight fire with fire and it isn't ways the best way."

According to ProWrestling.net, Punk personally apologized to the homophobic follower and wrote, "I don't want you to kill yourself. I want you to better yourself. Just as I want to better myself. I'll start by being the better man and once again, apologize for my harsh reaction to your opinion of homosexuals making you 'sick.'

"Sorry y'all. If I let anybody down, I apologize," he added. "I'll make it up to ya and move forward with a better understanding of others' feelings."

But it wasn't that long ago that Punk was spewing homophobic rhetoric himself. In July 2011, the wrestler called an audience member a "homo." The incident was caught on camera and went viral. After TMZ reported about the exchange, Punk once again took to Twitter to apologize.

"I'm glad TMZ posted that video because everybody needs to be held accountable for their bullshit, me included," Punk wrote. "What I said was bullshit. I'm embarrassed. I own up to being a total douche in this situation and I offer a sincere apology to anybody I hurt with careless words."

The WWE issued its own statement -- the organization did not apologize for Punk but rather tried to distance itself from the remarks.

"WWE does not condone this type of language or bias and we reinforce that with our talent who are independent contractors," the statement said.

WWE teamed up with GLAAD in order to educate pro wrestlers about homophobia after wrestler John Sena released a homophobic rap in February 2011. Additionally, in March of the same year announcer Michael Cole tweeted "faggot" to fellow announcer Josh Matthews.

"WWE takes this issue very seriously, and has already spoken with our talent about these incidents," a WWE spokesperson said at the time. "We are taking steps and working with GLAAD to ensure that our fans know that WWE is against bullying or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."

Although Dakota Cochrane isn't a WWE wrestler, the 25-year-old fighter and former gay-for-pay porn star participated in the most recent season of FX's reality show "The Ultimate Fighter" -- a series that centers around mixed martial artists.

It was revealed in February that Cochrane went under the name "Danny" and performed for the gay porn website Sean Cody. He had been starring in Sean Cody clips since 2008 and has participated in solo and hardcore scenes with other male actors.

"It's definitely a decision I regret," Cochrane toldMMAFighting.com. "If I would have known what would happen I definitely wouldn't have done it. But I had money issues and I needed help. I went there to do pictures, and they started throwing pretty high numbers in front of me. I didn't really think. It was a big mistake."