Dwayne Johnsonis firing back atVin Diesel’s claims he and his costar feuded over a"tough love" approachon the set of theFast & Furiousfilms.
“One part of me feels like there’s no way I would dignify any of that bull—- with an answer,” he said. “I’ve been around the block a lot of times. Unlike [Diesel], I did not come from the world of theater. And, you know, I came up differently and was raised differently.”
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Johnson continued, “And I came from a completely different culture and environment. And I go into every project giving it my all. And if I feel that there’s some things that need to be squared away and handled and taken care of, then I do it. And it’s just that simple. So when I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed. I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I’m sure Fellini is laughing too.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel in 2011.Buda Mendes/LatinContent via Getty
A rep for Diesel did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Johnson, who starred in his firstFast & Furiousfilm in 2011 and most recently appeared in 2019’sHobbs & Shaw,confirmed toVanity Fairthat he only agreed to appear in 2017’sThe Fate of the Furiousif he didn’t have to share any scenes with Diesel.
“I wanted to forgo drama,” he said. “I thought that that was the best thing to do. For everybody.”
He also opened up about his2016 Instagram postin which he called out his male costars inFast 8.The post is now deleted, but read, in part, “My female costars are always amazing and I love ‘em. My male costars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t,“PEOPLEreported at the time.
“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,” he added.
Reflecting on what went down on set after he posted the message, Johnson toldVanity Fair”[it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note. The actor clarified that while “nothing specific happened” that day that made him speak out, also admitting that “I shouldn’t have shared that” because of his NDA, he insisted, “I meant what I said.”
“I wouldn’t call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity,” he told the outlet. “He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum. And agreed to leave it there.”
TheJungle Cruisestar, who added that he and Diesel are “philosophically two different people,” also shot down some of his costar’s claims about their relationship, including his 2017 comment toUSA Today, in which he told the outlet, “I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know…but he appreciates it. He knows he only has one big brother in the film world, and that’s me.”
Clapping back, Johnson toldVanity Fair, “I have one big brother and it’s my half brother. And that’s it.”
source: people.com
