Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel have starred in four movies in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. However, the pair have a history that dates back to their first films together in the series.
The feud between Johnson and Diesel reached its peak during filming for the eighth movie in the series “The Fate of the Furious.” Johnson then took to Instagram to make a post calling one of the actors in the film “chicken sh*t,” and “candy a**,” and this was later revealed to be Diesel.
Later on, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Johnson spoke about the Instagram post he made, and how although he did not regret handling it, he could have done it a different way.
He also revealed that many of those on the film’s set, came up to him and shared their appreciation for how he handled the feud with Diesel. Here is all we know about the feud between the two hefty-looking men, what led to the Instagram post, and the aftermath.
The Feud Between Johnson And Diesel
Up until Johnson’s interview with Rolling Stone, the bicker between him and Diesel was only just a rumor amongst fans and celebrity circles. However, in this interview, he made statements that confirmed the rumors, such as the statement that they have “a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating.”
In a separate interview with Men’s health, Diesel also explained that their disagreements stemmed from the tough love approach he used to appraise and correct the performances and acting of his co-stars.
As a producer of the “Fast and Furious” Franchise, he claimed that the character played by Johnson was difficult to portray and that his actions had to convince audiences that his past as a professional wrestler was non-existent. To achieve this, Diesel said, “My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be.”
From Diesel’s interview, many fans of the two assumed that Johnson was offended by the criticism of his actions, as he had already been a staple in the acting industry for more than a decade.
The Viral Instagram Post Johnson Made
When their feud eventually reached its peak during filming for “The Fate of the Furious,” Johnson took to his Instagram to make a post appreciating his co-stars and calling out some male co-stars.
The post read, “My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken s–s–t to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. 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 also added a hashtag to the post that read “#ZeroToleranceForCandyAsses.”
The post went viral and many fans guessed the jab was directed at Diesel, a fact that was proven true when Johnson later made appreciation posts for actors and actresses he had worked with on the film and excluded Diesel.
However, the two later settled their differences, according to statements made by Johnson at an interview with Vanity Fair. He stated the meeting was not peaceful, but gave the actors the clarity that they’re just people at opposing ends of the spectrum, and helped them accept their differences and leave their feud there.
Crew Members Thanked Johnson For Calling Diesel Out
In the Vanity Fair interview, Johnson explained that the day he made the post calling out Diesel was not his best day but he “chose to share it” to the public regardless.
He also said that despite the chaos that resulted from the post, it seemed that “every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note.”
For him, it still didn’t change that he usually doesn’t operate that way or shares things like that to the public, as he has typically been a private celebrity that handled his business behind the scenes.
He stated that, “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.”
Johnson And Diesel’s Relationship Dynamic Since The Post
Despite the aftermath of the post, Johnson made it very clear that he had no regrets over calling Diesel out, although he might have done it differently.
Many fans of the two believed that they had settled their differences and the Vanity Fair interview gave this idea too. However, Diesel touched back on their feud in his Men’s health interview when he explained the source of their tension.
In response to Diesel’s statement, Johnson told Vanity Fair that, “One part of me feels like there’s no way I would dignify any of that bullsh*t with an answer. 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.”
And in the latest film in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Johnson did not make an appearance. Many fans of him and the series have wondered whether this was because of his unavailability for filming or his ongoing quarrel with Diesel, who was a producer on the film.
