Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s feud with Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel have been holding grudges against each other since 2016, after starring together in various franchise instalments
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson hated his Fast and Furious co-star Vin Diesel so much he refused to work with him in any more Hollywood blockbusters.
Though the pair have often been mistaken for twins, they’ve been feuding since 2016, when Johnson referred to unnamed Fast and Furious stars as “candy a**es” in a since-deleted social media post. Rumours quickly escalated that the post had been aimed at Vin Diesel in particular.
He wrote: “Some [male costars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken s**t to do anything about it anyway. Candy a**es. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you’re right.”
It was down to their mutual colleague Michelle Rodriguez to confirm existing tension between the pair, as she explained: “Any human being who knows what men are like knows to stay out [of those] situations and let them figure it out.
“They’re ‘bros’, man. They’re friends, and ultimately even friends reach a point where they have to set aside their differences to make a movie for multicultural people around the world, and that is the bigger scheme of things.”
But in 2017, when F9 filming was delayed, Tyrese Gibson blamed Johnson, writing: “Congratulations to @TheRock and your brother in law aka 7 bucks producing partner @hhgarcia41 for making the fast and the furious franchise about YOU.
Later, Johnson admitted that the row provided free publicity for the flick, admitting: “I’ve been in the game a long time. Would Universal have preferred that didn’t happen? Sure, we talked about it. The irony is after that and as they do their tracking and all their analysis, the interest shot through the roof to a whole other level.”
Meanwhile, Vin Diesel told USA Today that the pair were “close” in 2017, telling the publication: “I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don’t think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne.
“I protect the franchise. I protect everybody including Dwayne. I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know. And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it. Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me.”
In Fate of the Furious, though, the actors didn’t share any scenes together, and in 2021 Johnson said he would not return to the Fast franchise, though he “wished the cast well”. He also admitted regret for his initial post, telling Vanity Fair: “I shouldn’t have shared that.
“Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don’t share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bulls**t away from the public. They don’t need to know that. That’s why I say it wasn’t my best day.”
And despite their differences, Vin begged Dwayne to return – but Johnson said his post was “manipulative” as it mentioned his children and their co-star Paul Walker’s death. He said: “We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace.”
By May 2023, Johnson was cordial enough with the cast to make a post-credits cameo in Fast X, hinting they’d come to a “peace treaty” – and the Jumanji star confirmed he’d make a full return as Luke Hobbs in upcoming movies.
It’s a far cry from refusing to ever work with his co-star again, in 2021 cheekily adding: “What I came to realise is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach movie-making and collaborating. It took me some time, but I’m grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not.
“I wish him all the best, and I harbour no ill will there, just because of the clarity we have. Actually, you can erase that last part about ‘no ill will.’ We’ll just keep it with the clarity.”
