Ninety-nine percent of people now call me The Hoff - and it’s out of respect.

Hasselhoff’s quip plays on the gap between celebrity branding and personal identity. “The Hoff” is a nickname that became a shorthand for his public persona—an exaggerated, media-friendly version of himself shaped by Baywatch-era fame and later pop-cultural afterlives. By claiming it is used “out of respect,” he humorously reframes what could be read as ironic or kitschy fandom into admiration, asserting control over the narrative. The line also hints at how fame can overwrite a person’s given name: the public’s familiarity is with the brand, not the private individual. The joke works because it is both self-mocking and self-mythologizing.