Velveteen Dream was released by WWE in May 2021 as part of many releases made by the company throughout the year.
In March 2020, Dream (real name Patrick Clark) was accused of inappropriate contact with a minor on social media. He addressed and denied the allegation in April 2020. During the Speaking Out movement in June 2020, Dream was accused of inappropriate contact with a minor and grooming by pro wrestler Joshua Fuller.
Triple H gave a statement saying WWE had looked into the allegations and found "nothing there."
Dream was on and off television in 2020 and last wrestled on December 23, 2020 against Adam Cole.
Speaking on Dishing Drama with Dana Wilkey, Dream commented, and again denied, the allegations, reiterating his comments he gave in a statement following his WWE release. You can view his full statement by clicking here.
He said about the allegations that they were, "Bullshit. 100% bullshit" before saying that the allegations cost him his career.
He also provides further comment on his release from WWE.
"I'd like to throw this in there as well, Josh Fuller was the one that when he decided to show up on social media with his bullshit allegations, he started the hashtag Fire Velveteen Dream. That's what it cost me. An investigation was done by WWE, our COO Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, went on record and said there was nothing that WWE found that would incriminate me or cause any concern for the company, a company who sells to children, and I'm being accused of soliciting sex for minors. Come on. WWE found nothing. They even tried to put me back in a program with one of their top stars and then after the Fire Velveteen Dream hashtag blew up, they were doing the digital audience and someone showed up, in their place instead of a person it hashtag Fire Velveteen Dream," he said.
Dream continued by saying, "WWE gave me time, trying to distance me from the travesty of it all, and then they brought me back on a smaller scale to work with one of their mid-card guys. I got a couple months out of that, but #FireVelveteenDream was still trending. Every time I went on TV, it would begin to trend. WWE, in the middle of cancel culture, found itself at a loss. Money talks and they have shareholders. Even if they found me to be innocent, now, I'm affecting the bottom line, at least the bottom line they have with me, the money they can make with me, the way they can utilize me on TV. That's what it cost me. It cost me my career. It cost me a chance to not only continue a dream, but almost have guaranteed support for my family. It was horrible. As soon as I got fired, the air cleared. Everyone deleted their messages, everyone deleted their vlogs. No one had nasty, rude hateful messages to send. It all stopped. It was as if the job got done and now we can all live our lives, except for the guy playing Velveteen Dream, me."
Dream had been going to open-ring sessions at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida prior to his WWE release.
He was announced for a SWF event in September 2021, but the appearance was quickly canceled.
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