Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s faces a new wave of allegations that he’s a self-centered star who is difficult to work with, with a report detailing how the muscular former professional wrestler is often hours late on sets filming and fan events and needs. exercise “control” over others around him.
The Wrap’s new report describes how Johnson’s chronic lateness is nothing new in his career. His alleged tendency to keep co-stars and crew members waiting for up to eight hours on his latest film, “Red One,” also turned the Christmas-themed action comedy into a “budget misadventure massive” with a budget that climbs to more. more than $250 million, the report also states.
The Wrap said the Hayward native’s insider accounts of lateness and “strange personal demands” over the years have undermined the positive public persona he spent two decades maintaining in Hollywood. By the way, The Wrap said that one of those demands, which Johnson himself alluded to in a 2021 interview with Esquire, involves expecting his aides to get rid of the bottles he urinates in, so that he doesn’t have to interrupt his story, three-hour workout programs.
The Wrap reported that the movie star and entrepreneur has long presented himself as “the hardest worker in the room,” but he has actually “developed a reputation in the industry for being late and unprofessional on the set,” according to several insiders. .
An insider on the set of “Red One” said, “The only thing Dwayne was consistent about was being chronically late.”
Regarding the production of “Red One,” a spokesperson for the studio, Amazon MGM, denied to The Wrap that there were any problems caused by Johnson’s delay, saying he had been a partner “incredible” in the project.
But The Wrap also reported that Johnson’s delay created tension with his co-stars, most notably with Vin Diesel when they worked together on the “Fast & Furious” franchise, as People and Page Six also said in reports, dating back to 2016. Following the feud between the two action stars, an insider told People: “Vin was having issues with The Rock because The Rock kept arriving late for production. … Sometimes he doesn’t show up at all and he delays production.
Johnson also clashed with Ryan Reynolds when they worked together on the 2020 Netflix film “Red Notice,” leading to a “big fight” and Johnson storming off the set, The Wrap reported. TMZ also reported that Johnson’s repeated lateness aggravated Reynolds, but said the two actors managed to work things out and “filming continued without further problems.”
But Johnson was difficult in other ways on the set of “Red Notice,” which was filmed during the pandemic in 2020, according to The Wrap.
Insiders accused Johnson of breaking strict quarantine rules. While the crew had to be sequestered during production, Johnson frequently flew home on his private jet, with The Wrap quoting a crew member who claimed, “He had to host family and friends for a barbecue, and ended up getting COVID anyway. It’s the most selfish thing I’ve ever seen an actor do.
The reasons for Johnson’s perpetual lateness appear to stem from his refusal to work a full day of filming, despite accommodating his three-hour daily workout routine, The Wrap reported. One studio member said the actor didn’t want to work more than four or five hours a day, while another said, “It’s about control.”
The Wrap added that Johnson’s lateness “has been an issue for several years,” also citing his behavior on the HBO football series “Ballers,” which aired from 2015 to 2019.
“They’re renting a location where they can film as many of the other actors as possible while they wait for him to decide if he’ll come to the set,” a producer who visited the set told The Wrap. A former production assistant added: “He was regularly three to four hours late for filming. Keeping (over 100) crew members waiting for no reason. According to a third insider, in March 2017, Johnson was six hours late to the set of “Ballers.”
On the set of the 2018 film “Rampage,” Johnson was late an average of four to five hours a day, and one of his costars kept records of how late he was, two insiders told The Wrap.
Johnson’s reported lateness also extends to other commitments, The Wrap reported. Earlier this month, he arrived three hours late before his main event match at WrestleMania 40, two insiders told TheWrap. For WWE World, a WWE fan event in Philadelphia preceding WrestleMania 40, Johnson showed up two hours late, drawing boos from the crowd and criticism from the local Philadelphia press, The Wrap also reported.
These accounts of Johnson being “difficult” come after two of the star’s last two blockbusters – 2018’s “Skyscraper” and last year’s DC comic book adaptation “Black Adam” – underperformed on the critical and commercial plan.
Meanwhile, Johnson has been dogged by other controversies over the past year, which have sparked criticism on social media, calling him arrogant, elitist, hypocritical or engaging in political opportunism during an election period.
In August, Johnson and Oprah Winfrey faced massive backlash for the way they begged their fans to contribute to a fund to support Maui residents who lost their homes in deadly wildfires. People were angry that Johnson, who is worth about $800 million, and his even richer friend didn’t seem to be living up to their social responsibilities. In a video shot “poolside,” Johnson acknowledged the public’s anger and said, “I could have been better, and next time I’ll be better,” Vanity Fair reported.
Then, early last month, Johnson sparked speculation that he was moving politically to the right when he went on Fox News and used “right-wing signaling” language to say he would not publicly support Joe Biden for president this year, as he did. in 2020, Vanity Fair also reported it.
Johnson has always “toed a narrow line” on politics, Vanity Fair said, although he has long been suspected of Republican leanings and may have harbored political ambitions himself. The Rock told Fox News that he regretted supporting anyone because he believed that he, with his “level of influence,” had sowed division in America. He said he would keep his presidential pick to himself this year, while complaining that he was “really bothered” by today’s “cancel culture, work culture.”
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