Dwayne Johnson has accused his Fast & Furious co-star, Vin Diesel of “manipulation” after he publicly asked Dwayne to return to the franchise despite private discussions.
Dwayne and Vin have had a contentious relationship since 2016 when Dwayne called out his male co-stars in a scathing Instagram post, which has since been deleted.
“My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars however are a different story,” he wrote on his last day of filming The Fate of the Furious. “Some conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken shit to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.”
He added: “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.”
Although the pair seemed to put their differences aside, earlier this year, Dwayne revealed that the Instagram post had led to a private meeting with Vin where they clarified where they stood with each other. “I wouldn’t call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity,” Dwayne told Vanity Fair in October. “He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum. And agreed to leave it there.”
And then in November, Vin made a public plea for Dwayne to return to his role as Luke Hobbs for the 10th and final installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. Dwayne went on to accuse Vin of “manipulation” for using both his children and Paul Walker’s death in an attempt to change his mind. Dwayne previously played Luke Hobbs in four of the Fast & Furious movies, although he was notably absent from the ninth film earlier this year.
“I’ve wished them well,” he told the Hollywood Reporter at the time of its release. “I wish them well on Fast 9. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do that will be without me.”