One of the most surprising feuds in Hollywood was the one between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel. The Fast & Furious stars reportedly fell out during the filming of the eighth film in the franchise. The Fast & Furious series began in 2001, and Johnson joined in 2011, when he made his debut in Fast Five. After that, Johnson starred in four of the sequels. In 2018, it was announced that Johnson signed on to star in the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.
Diesel has starred in the Fast & Furious series since the very first film, becoming what could be described as the series’ main character. However, in 2016, reports started to emerge that the two stars weren’t getting along. From there, there was non-stop rumors of a “beef” between the two actors that led to the two no longer filming scenes together.
What happened between The Rock and Vin Diesel?
In August 2016, Dwayne Johnson shared on Instagram that things were tense on the set of The Fate of The Furious. The actor stated that he was not a fan of how some of his male co-stars conducted themselves on set, referring to them in less-than-great terms. “Some [male co-stars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken [expletive] to do anything about it anyway. Candy [expletive],” Johnson wrote in a now-deleted post.
Johnson seemed to insinuate that everything was fine later on that month. However, he then took to Instagram again to thank everyone on set from the film — minus Diesel. In September 2016, Michelle Rodriguez, who also stars in the franchise, seemed to agree that there was indeed a feud between Diesel and Johnson, but she said she was going to stay out of it. In November 2017, Diesel finally broke his silence on the feud during an interview with USA Today.
“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. … It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas. Being an alpha is sometimes a pain in the [butt],” Diesel said.
Dwayne Johnson had similar feelings about his co-star
Johnson seemingly confirmed the same sentiments and that the two had a difference of opinion but there was still love between the two. In Fast & Furious 8, the two actors were rarely seen together on the screen also hinting to the two having problems on set. When it announced that Johnson would be portraying his character, Luke Hobbs, in the spin-off, it was speculated that this was because of the actors’ alleged beef. However, after Hobbs & Shaw hit theaters, Johnson took to Instagram one more time. This time, the Rock included genuine thanks to Diesel.
“Lastly, but not least, I want to thank brother Vin for your support of Hobbs & Shaw … My goal was always, all these years, to come into the Fast & Furious world and help elevate the franchise in any way that I possibly could,” Johnson shared.