The Rock has hit back at an accusation of his charitable work.
On February 8th, Dwayne Johnson was part of a WrestleMania press conference to build to the biggest show on the WWE calendar in April. Johnson, who has been playing the heel as he feels that Cody Rhodes should not be in the WrestleMania main event, addressed the crowd in Vegas. Looking to illicit a negative reaction before the event, The Rock referred to a portion of Rhodes fans as “Cody Crybabies” in a previous interview. The reaction worked as Rock was booed in the T-Mobile Arena, which one journalist has greatly misinterpreted.
Nick Sotor clipped The Rock being booed in Vegas and believed it was a different reason. In August 2023, wildfires devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui, with more than 100 people sadly losing their lives as a result. Later that month, Johnson and Oprah Winfrey launched The People’s Fund of Maui and donated $10 million, asking others to contribute to helping those affected.
Sotor claimed that the boos were due to residents of Mui still not receiving donations, also misinterpreting the “Rocky” chants:
CROWD IN VEGAS BOOs “THE ROCK” DEMANDING HE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH AID FOR MAUI Oprah and Dwayne @TheRock Johnson promised TENS OF MILLIONS to the victims of the Maui fires, but many victims still have not seen a dime. It looks like the audience is fully AMERICA FIRST and is demanding The Rock and Oprah follow through with their commitment to take care of the people of Lahaina. The crowd started booing and chanting “MAUI! MAUI! MAUI!” MAKE IT HAPPEN!
The Rock Responds
The Rock noticed this post and addressed it, setting the record straight in regard to the context of his address and that over $50 million dollars has been delivered to the families:
I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bullshit with a response, but when you use Hawaii’s tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won’t stay quiet. This moment you’re referring to is from our @WWE press conference this past Thursday where I turned “heel” – wrestling parlance for bad guy. I’m playing it up with our crowd as they boo. It’s what we do in our WWE universe, and we all love every second of it.
For the record: Our People’s Fund of Maui has already DELIVERED over $50 MILLION DOLLARS to over 8,000 survivors who were affected by the fires, and I’m grateful to the bone that we’ve been the primary funders. Hawaii is where I grew up, where I raise my children throughout the year and where my ancestors are buried. These are my Polynesian people and these are OUR American people. You can’t imagine how much they are still struggling daily to put their lives back together and take care of each other. Our Poly American people are as resilient as people come, and they will raise and get back on their feet.
Nick, instead of posting bullshit like this that you know is false – I encourage you to post something positive for Hawaii, for our Polynesian American people. Or actually take positive action and come to Hawaii to help out in an uplifting way. I’m in Hawaii now, and I guarantee you, you’ll get great content that can actually make a difference in people’s lives. Genuinely. Let’s put our energy and our online platforms into lifting people up. Acknowledging the good things that people do.
Raising awareness for the suffering in ways that can effectively help. It takes so much effort to be negative, and create and spread bullshit – but when you spread positivity, kindness, and lead by example you can really impact lives. I’m sorry to all our Poly/Hawaiian ohana of Maui, for shining light on this toxicity as you struggle through tough times – I always try to be Na’au Pono. Love U. Aloha, DJ
The charity launch was met with controversy, with many asking why Rock and Winfrey were asking the general public for donations given their own individual wealth. In a follow-up, Dwayne Johnson and Oprah Winfrey would each address the backlash.
Featured image: WWE
