Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have shared the screen throughout multiple installments
of the Fast and Furious franchise.
But once the cameras started rolling on the eighth film,The Fate of the Furious, the brawny
bros must've finally realized that all those tiny race cars were only big enough for one
hulking beefcake.
The two started openly feuding, causing plenty of speculation among fans and celeb-watchers
alike.
So, what happened to make these macho men mad at each other?
Let's take a look back at what really went down between The Rock and Vin Diesel.
Airing those grievances
Thanks to social media, on-set celebrity feuds are no longer just whispers of discord whipping
through Tinseltown.
"This is where it gets interesting … if you smell-la-la-la-la!"
Amid production on Fast 8, The Rock shared in an Instagram post to say that while he
had respect for his female co-stars and some of the men he shared the screen with, some
of his male co-stars were a different story altogether.
Although he didn't name names, he alleged, "Some conduct themselves as stand up men and
true professionals, while others don't.
The ones that don't are too chicken s**t to do anything about it anyway.
Candy asses.
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."
"I will beat you like a cherokee drum."
After the post caused a stir, some of the Fast 8 cast quickly recused themselves from
the list of possible suspects.
Tyrese Gibson, for example, denied that he was a culprit in a now-deleted Instagram post
and added that he didn't even know of any beef cooking up between his co-stars.
After that, fans and the media started cutting down the list until finally, it became clear
The Rock was referencing Vin Diesel in his scathing statement.
"It wasn't that hard to find you, Toretto."
"I wasn't hiding."
Pedaling for peace
Once the world figured out that Diesel was the target of Johnson's ire, the pair reportedly
met to try and resolve their differences in a big guy pow-wow.
But according to TMZ, the chat didn't go well.
Sources claimed that part of the reason Diesel and Johnson couldn't make peace with one another
is that they both have egos that are even larger than their biceps.
Conflicts reportedly stemmed from Diesel's role as a producer on the film and decisions
he made that didn't sit well with Johnson.
So, when a peace treaty wasn't inked between these two, that's when the race to point fingers
officially kicked off.
"There's a fantastical element to taking two guys that represent formidability and putting
them together."
Gentlemen, start your engines.
He said, he said
Diesel's camp claimed Dwayne Johnson was being a diva on
the set of The Fate of the Furious.
A source told People, "Vin has been having problems with The Rock because The Rock keeps
showing up late for production.
Sometimes he doesn't show up at all and he's delaying the production … Vin just couldn't
take it anymore."
Then, contrary reports emerged indicating it was actually Diesel who was the true diva
on set.
Sources told TMZ that the production crew for Fast 8 dug Johnson's professionalism and
deemed him easy to work with and super friendly on set.
Meanwhile, Diesel criticized other actors — including The Rock — on set and forced
producers to move call times from 7 .a.m. to 10 a.m. for no reason...other than just
not wanting to wake up early.
Damage control
The Rock went on to try and course correct by posting a peppy set video with crew and
extras from the movie's prison scene to show off his goodwill with the team and captioned it,
"To me, conflict can be a good thing, when it's followed by great resolution.
I was raised on healthy conflict and welcome it.
And like any family, we get better from it.
At the end of the day me and [my Fast 8] co-stars all agree on the most important thing: Delivering
an incredible movie to the world.
Meanwhile, Tyrese Gibson stepped forward to seemingly defend the target of The Rock's
accusations by posting a picture of himself with Vin Diesel, with the caption, "Our brotherhood
and every moment has inspired me to be a better man and father…So much strength to pull
from…I'm so f***ing proud to call you my family and my brother…
If no one else will jump out there and stand up I will — You're my brother for life."
If it seemed like Gibson was choosing sides with that post, he wasn't alone.
Ludacris may also have been playing a cryptic game of his own by posting a throwback photo
of himself with several other Fast and Furious cast members.
The group photo included Diesel, but not Johnson.
"Oh no, she didn't!"
Luda has since posed alongside The Rock several times, but Tyreese's pictorial history indicates
that's still firmly planted on Team Diesel right now.
The passing lane
After filming wrapped in mid-August 2016, Diesel attempted to extend an olive branch
to Johnson, but for some, it seemed a little underhanded.
Diesel posted a nearly 30-minute Facebook video thanking his fans for their support,
during which he mentioned that it was his own fans that got The Rock the job in the
first place.
"The reason why we brought Dwayne Johnson into Fast Five was because of you."
He added that the role was originally written for Tommy Lee Jones, but, despite the apparent
shade, he did admit …
"We gave it to Dwayne, and he shined in it."
Even so, The Rock was obviously unmoved.
In an Instagram post from the same day, Johnson specifically thanked several of his Fast 8
co-stars after wrapping the film...with one name curiously missing from the gratitude list.
"Break that finger six different ways and stick it right where the sun doesn't shine."
The finish line
After months of silence and separation, it looks like The Rock and Vin Diesel are finally
ready to cool their jets.
Surrounding the release of Fate of the Furious, Vin emerged to declare that he and The Rock
have since made nice...
Well, nice enough at least.
He told USA Today, "I don't think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way.
I think some things may be blown out of proportion.
I don't think that was his intention.
I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise.
In my house, he's Uncle Dwayne."
That's a stark contrast from multiple reports that claimed the musclemen were being "separated
as much as possible" during the film's promotional tour.
But Diesel chalks all their problems up to "creative differences" on set.
He explained that as a producer, the blame for problems falls at his feet, saying, "I
protect the franchise.
I protect everybody including Dwayne.
I protected Dwayne more than he'll ever know.
And it doesn't matter.
He doesn't have to know.
But he appreciates it.
He knows it.
Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life.
Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that's me."
If that sounded a little passive-aggressive...well, there's more.
Diesel went on to even take credit for paving the way for Dwayne's career, claiming he was
"the first multicultural megastar in Hollywood … It's not always easy being an alpha.
And it's two alphas.
Being an alpha is sometimes a pain."
Of course, we can probably imagine what The Rock's response to that little anecdote was like ...
"There ain't no g--damn team.
It was just one man and he's standing right in front of you."
As for how this whole controversy will impact the forthcoming ninth and tenth installments
to the franchise?
Well, that remains to be seen, but something tells us Vin Diesel's got a prime parking
spot in this film lot.
Thanks for watching!
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