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Dwayne Johnson Appears in "Fast X" Despite Years-Long Feud With Vin Diesel

25/05/2023 - 10:31 AM

There was once a time when Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel were friends. They starred together in four Fast & Furious films and Diesel's kids even referred to Johnson as "Uncle Dwayne," per USA Today [1]. But in August 2016, their friendship took a turn — a bad one. Johnson called some of his male Fast & Furious costars "candy asses" for their unprofessional behavior in a scathing Instagram post — which has since been deleted — and all the evidence seems to suggest he was talking about Diesel. It seems as though the two haven't been able to repair their friendship since then, and it looked like Johnson was never going to return to the Fast & Furious franchise — until now.

Following the premiere of "Fast X," which hit theaters on May 19, it was confirmed that Johnson did, indeed, reprise his role in the franchise after declaring in 2021 that there was "no chance" he'd do so [2]. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight [3] about Johnson's surprise cameo in the latest Fast & Furious installment, Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Letty, told the outlet what his appearance means for the future of the long-running franchise. "They're gonna be a little pissed at us," she said of Johnson popping up in "Fast X"'s post-credits scene. "But, you know, I mean, it's due. It's long overdue. It's the beginning of the end, so we kinda gotta throw it all at the wall and see what sticks."

Rodriguez added, "Ahead of time, you might get a little pissed off at us. It just means there's more."

Johnson's "Fast X" cameo was first reported by The Wrap [4] on May 12. The wrestler-turned-actor has yet to comment on his appearance in the movie, and it's unclear if his feud with Diesel has been squashed at this time.

Read on to learn more about the years-long drama between Johnson and Diesel surrounding the Fast & Furious franchise.

8 Aug. 2016: Dwayne Johnson Makes His Mysterious "Candy Asses" Comment

Diesel and Johnson's feud all started when the latter slammed his male "Fast 8" costars in a since-deleted Instagram post. While he didn't name anyone directly, he did refer to them as "candy asses." His post read as follows:

"This is my final week of shooting #FastAndFurious8. There's no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one. An incredible hard-working crew. UNIVERSAL has been great partners as well. 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. The ones that don't are too chicken sh*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.

Bottom line is it'll play great for the movie and fits this Hobbs character that's embedded in my DNA extremely well. The producer in me is happy about this part. Final week on FAST 8 and I'll finish strong.#IcemanCometh #F8 #ZeroToleranceForCandyAsses."

10 Aug. 2016: Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson Officially Start Feuding

According to People [6], the "candy ass" that Johnson was reportedly referring to was his costar Diesel. "Tension has been building up for months," a source told the publication. "Vin has been having problems with The Rock because The Rock keeps showing up late for production. Sometimes he doesn't show up at all and he's delaying the production."

However, Page Six [7] claimed that Diesel's "diva behaviour was to blame." "Vin and Dwayne have been butting heads through the production of 'Fast 8,'" an insider revealed. "Vin has a reputation for being difficult — he shows up late, keeps people waiting, holds up production, and is disrespectful to people on the set. Dwayne lost his patience with him."

10 Aug. 2016: Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson Appear to Be on Good Terms

Just two days after Johnson's scathing Instagram post, it seemed their feud was already over when the actor shared a video on Instagram, thanking his "Fast 8" team for all of their hard work. He even called them "family," adding that "family is gonna have differences of opinion and fundamental core beliefs," but that "conflict can be a good thing." Johnson also stressed that the "most important thing" is ultimately "delivering an incredible movie to the world."

10 Aug. 2016: Vin Diesel Seemingly Breaks His Silence on Feud With Dwayne Johnson

Diesel seemingly responded to his rumoured feud with Johnson with an Instagram video, saying, "Give me a second and I will tell you everything."

19 Aug. 2016: Dwayne Johnson Leaves Vin Diesel Out of "Fast 8" Thank You Note

After wrapping up production on "Fast 8," Johnson thanked his "fellow costars for the daily effort and grind" in an Instagram post. He specifically named Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Tyrese Gibson but noticeably left out Diesel.

19 Nov. 2016: Dwayne Johnson Says He Has No Regrets About His Instagram Rant

Following months of rumours about their feud, Johnson admitted that he had no regrets about his now-infamous Instagram rant. "I was very clear with what I said," Johnson stated in an interview with the Los Angeles Times [8]. "I've been in the game a long time. Would Universal [Pictures] have preferred that didn't happen? Sure, we talked about it. The irony is after that as they do their tracking and all their analysis, the interest shot through the roof to a whole other level."

23 Jan. 2017: Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson Pose For a Photo During "Fast 8" Press Tour

During the "Fast 8" press tour, Diesel posted a group photo on Instagram featuring Gibson and Johnson.

7 April 2017: Vin Diesel Insists He's on Good Terms With Dwayne Johnson

Diesel insisted everything was good between him and Johnson during an interview with USA Today [9]. "I don't think the world realises how close we are in a weird way," Diesel said. "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."

Diesel also said that he protects everyone in the cast as a producer. "I protect the franchise. I protect everybody, including Dwayne," he added. "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."

Diesel even seemingly confirmed their feud was over. "I'm always rooting for Dwayne," he said. "I'm the first multicultural megastar in Hollywood. They didn't exist. To see another multicultural star come up is something I am very proud of. I'm always rooting Dwayne on."

2 May 2017: Vin Diesel Wishes Dwayne Johnson a Happy Birthday

Diesel further confirmed everything was good between him and Johnson when he wished him a happy birthday on Instagram.

4 April 2018: Dwayne Johnson Opens Up About Rivalry With Vin Diesel

Johnson opened up about his rivalry with Diesel again in an interview with Rolling Stone. While Johnson said he still wasn't sure if he was returning for the ninth instalment of Fast & Furious, he did confirm that his feud with Diesel was real. "We were not in any scenes together [in 'The Fate of the Furious']," he said. "Vin and I had a few discussions including an important face-to-face in my trailer. 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. Right now, I'm concentrating on making the [Hobbs and Shaw] spinoff as good as it can be, but 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."

7 Nov. 2021: Vin Diesel Asks Dwayne Johnson For a Truce

Years after their feud began, Diesel shared an impassioned Instagram post [10] asking Johnson to come back to the Fast & Furious franchise.

"My little brother Dwayne . . . the time has come," he wrote. "The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don't send well wishes… but the time has come. Legacy awaits."

He continued, "I told you years ago that I was going to fulfil my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! I say this out of love . . . but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can't be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfil your destiny."

29 Dec. 2021: Dwayne Johnson Claims He's Never Coming Back to Fast & Furious

A month after Diesel's post, Johnson said there was no chance he'd come back to the franchise. "I told [Diesel] directly that I would not be returning to the franchise," he told CNN [11]. "I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. Vin's recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker [12]'s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding."

19 May 2023: Dwayne Johnson Appears in "Fast X"

Despite what he said in 2021, Johnson rejoined the Fast & Furious franchise after all following his appearance as Agent Luke Hobbs in the post-credits scene for "Fast X." However, only time will tell if he and Diesel have managed to iron out their beef once and for all.


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https://www.popsugar.co.uk/celebrity/Dwayne-Johnson-Vin-Diesel-Feud-Details-44726605