Dwatne Johnson on March 12, 2023.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
Dwayne Johnsonis calling out a social media activist who recently criticized the actor’s efforts to provide aid and relief to victims of Hawaii’s August 2023wildfires on the island of Maui.
Nick Sortorshared a clipfrom Johnson’s recent appearance at a WWE press conference in Las Vegas onXFriday. In the post, he claimed the video showed a crowd booing the actor for not doing enough to provide relief to residents of the island. Sortor claimed that “many victims still have not seen a dime” from these funds, which Johnson immediately refuted.
Johnson continued: “I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bulls— with a response, but when you use Hawaii’s tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won’t stay quiet,” the actor, 51,wrote on the social media platformSunday in response to Sorter’s post.
The actor and pro wrestler, who has familial roots in Hawaii, explained that the video clip shows him “turned ‘heel’ — wrestling parlance for bad guy” as part of an ongoing storyline involvingThe Rock’s return to WWEfor the first time since 2016.
“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,” Johnson explained.
Johnson andOprah Winfreypreviously combined forces to launch thePeople’s Fund of Mauiin August in response to the devastating wildfires in Maui with a $10 million donation.
Lahaina, Hawaii on August 11, 2023.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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“Hawaii is where I grew up, where I raise my children throughout the year and where my ancestors are buried,” he wrote. “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.”
“Nick, instead of posting bulls— 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,” Johnson added in his post. “I’m in Hawaii now, and I guarantee you, you’ll get great content that can actually make a difference in people’s lives.”
Dwayne Johnson on Oct. 3, 2022.Hector Vivas/Getty
Hector Vivas/Getty
In response to Johnson’s post, Sortor himselfnoted on XMonday that the issues Johnson took with his original post “seems to have some validity” and that he is leaving the original post on X as is “simply to provide context to the ongoing dispute between the two of us regarding funding for Maui.”
The social media activistshared in a separate postthat he is also spending time on Maui and that he would like to work with Johnson “and use our platforms to do good” together.
source: people.com
