The Rock announced last year that he teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to launch the People's Fund for Maui, but the celebrity duo faced criticism after they called on the public to contribute to the fund.
- Feb 12, 2024
AceShowbiz - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson denied getting booed onstage over the Hawaii relief fund. The "Black Adam" leading man was forced to set the record straight after an X user tried to question whether he had kept his promise and showed some support for Maui island and its people.
"I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bulls**t with a response, but when you use Hawaii's tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won't stay quiet," the 51-year-old began his statement. He was replying to a tweet that read, "CROWD IN VEGAS BOOs 'THE ROCK' DEMANDING HE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH AID FOR MAUI."
The Rock went on to note, "This moment you're referring to is from our @WWE press conference this past Thursday where I turned 'heel' - wrestling parlance for bad guy." He continued, "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," the Hollywood star further explained. "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," he stated. "Our Poly American people are as resilient as people come, and they will raise and get back on their feet.
Addressing the X user, The Rock stressed, "Nick, instead of posting bulls**t 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." He then concluded, "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."
The Rock teamed up with Oprah Winfrey in August 2023 to launch the People's Fund for Maui, but the celebrity duo faced criticism after they called on the public to contribute to the fund. He later responded to the backlash, vowing that he "will be better" next time.
