Dwayne Johnson reveals that he loves when people pitch him Vin Diesel feud jokes. Johnson and Diesel worked together on several films in the Fast & Furious franchise, with Johnson's character, Luke Hobbs, first being introduced in 2011's Fast Five. While Johnson's character also appeared in his own spinoff film, Hobbs and Shaw, with Jason Statham, Johnson has since made clear that he will not be appearing in the upcoming final installments of the central Fast Saga.
The feud between Johnson and Diesel first became apparent when Johnson posted to his Instagram in 2016, seemingly calling Diesel out for being a "candy ass," among other things. The feud generated lots of publicity for the then-upcoming Fate of the Furious and it was never entirely clear to what extent the two actors actually became heated with each other on set. Both seemingly resolved their differences in the years following Fate of the Furious, but comments from Diesel in the summer of 2021 re-ignited talk of a feud when he claimed he needed to give Johnson "tough love" to get the right performance out of him.
When asked by SiriusXM about a feud-related line in his upcoming movie Red Notice, Johnson says that the jokes about his feud with Diesel "never end." The Rock claims that he's regularly pitched jokes about his feud with Diesel, but welcomes them because they "play great […] to the audience." He also makes clear that although many of them do end up going public in one form or another, they don't come from him. Read Johnson's full comment below:
The jokes never end. People were asking me about [making Diesel jokes] and they just, they find a way, and you know, what’s interesting is, you know, these Vin diesel jokes, which play great by the way to the audience, which is always a good thing because it’s all about [the audience]. But, people think these jokes come from me and they actually don’t. I mean, you’d be surprised at how many people come to me with ‘I got a great one.’ I’m like ‘okay.’ ‘I got another great Vin Diesel joke.’ ‘I’m sure you do.’ [Laughs] Always funny.
It's never entirely clear how much of the Johnson-Diesel feud is genuine and how much of it is just to garner publicity, but it seems that, at least for Johnson, it's something to be laughed at now. While Johnson and Diesel have, in the past, shrugged off the feud as nothing more than a series of disagreements between friends, the fact that the former will not be returning to the Fast Saga suggests they did have real trouble working together. Deciding to part ways appeared to have stopped the argument in its tracks, and though Johnson claims he is above making jokes about his former co-star, he clearly still enjoys the ones he hears.
Ultimately, Johnson's comments suggest that much of the joking he does about Diesel is for the benefit of the audience, and not rooted in any real malice. While the feud is entertaining to audiences, it is a shame for Fast & Furious fans who liked the on-screen dynamic between the two stars. Maybe, somewhere down the line, Johnson and Diesel can bury the hatchet for good and turn their friendly disagreements into more Fast & Furious, Toretto versus Hobbs action.
Source: SiriusXM
