“I’m not hating at all” - Rich Gaspari clears air over his criticism of Hadi Choopan

Rich Gaspari sparked controversy after he compared 2022 Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan to six-time champion Dorian Yates. To be precise, the bodybuilding veteran compared the backs of the two athletes, forcing Choopan to speak out. The duo’s exchange was quickly picked up by fans.

Just days after the heated exchange, which saw Choopan ask Gaspari to “be more professional,” the American cleared the air. In an attempt to dissolve the controversy, Gaspari has now released a video claiming that his criticism of Choopan was “constructive.” Stating that he wasn’t “hating at all” on the Iranian bodybuilder, the veteran said that he never meant to compare their “eras” as well.

Releasing a video statement on Instagram, Rich Gaspari wrote:

“Just wanted to talk about my last post comparing the back of @hadi_choopan and @thedorianyates I wanted to say this was not at all a bash on Hadi but more constructive. Hadi is a true champion and is the current Mr. Olympia and he earned that with his hard work and dedication to the sport.”

Gaspari, who competed in the 1980s and 1990s, claimed that his words were misinterpreted.

He said:

“Just want[ed] to talk about a controversial topic I posted — a side by side comparison of Dorian Yates with Hadi Choopan both from the Olympia. You can see Dorian had his Christmas tree shredded and Hadi — it was like his skin was thick in his lower back in comparison to Dorian Yates.

"I got a lot of haters saying I’m comparing old school bodybuilding to new school bodybuilding. Really, I mean, bodybuilding is bodybuilding. It’s about being in the best shape, the best aesthetics, the best symmetry, all these things — and what I have to say is Hadi is a deserving champion.”

Furthermore, Gaspari went on to state that Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan had the best packages at Mr. Olympia. However, he personally felt that the champion’s back wasn’t the best. The veteran emphasized that he was looking at the “aesthetics and shape” of the backs alone.

He went on to laud Hadi Choopan and said that his words were meant as “constructive criticism.” Gaspari added:

“For me, Hadi is a champion. He beat a champion — to me, it’s constructive criticism. It’s not something where I think that my era was better than this era, I think guys today are much bigger. I’m not hating at all. I think these guys really work hard, all the bodybuilders. That’s all I wanted to say.”

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Hadi Choopan’s clap back at Rich Gaspari over back comparison

Rich Gaspari’s clarification on the issue came only a day after Hadi Choopan clapped back at him. The Iranian slammed the American's comparison and dubbed it unfair. He commented on Gaspari’s controversial post to take a jibe at the American as well. He said that the comparison was similar to comparing Gaspari’s arm to Ronnie Coleman's.

In multiple comments, he wrote:

“It's like comparing a picture of your arm with Ronnie Coleman's arm, do you think it's a correct comparison?... You always compare the dark spot with the bright spot. Let's compare the bright spot with the bright spot… Compare the colors? The light? The quality of the cameras??? And then the other view??? Be professional Mr. Gaspari.”

The post picked up as the 2022 Mr. Olympia champion’s fans rushed to the comments to slam the comparison. It’s safe to say that Gaspari’s clarification was due.