Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is being called out by his Hollywood peers after declaring that he would stay out of politics.
“Silence is complicity,” Star Trek actor George Takei wrote on Threads on Monday in reaction to Johnson’s stance, while Stand By Me actor Wil Wheaton replied to Takei’s post, “So disappointing to find out he is such a coward.”
Johnson, 54, told Esquire earlier this month that he now prefers to keep his politics private after previously endorsing Joe Biden for president in 2020 and even expressing interest in running himself the following year.
“I’ve learned I’m going to keep my politics to myself,” he told the magazine. “There are moments when, hey, there’s nothing we can’t talk about. If I’m wrong, I’ll tell you I’m wrong. Or if I feel like I got a leg up and this is the right way to go, I’ll share it with you. Politics is omnipresent and it’s forever. I don’t like it. I hate it at times. I hate the slinging. I hate all the bulls--t that comes with it.”
The Jumanji star, who has an estimated net worth of $800 million, said “the main thing” he wants to focus on is “art” and “storytelling.”
Representatives for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He previously told Fox News’s Fox & Friends Weekend host Will Cain in April 2024 that he regretted endorsing Biden.
“The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was one I thought was the best decision for me at that time,” Johnson said, adding that he had thought it was his “job” to “exercise my influence.”
He argued the endorsement ultimately did more harm than good, calling it a source of “an incredible amount of division.”
“I realize now, going into this election, I’m not going to do that, I wouldn’t do that, because my goal is to bring our country together. I believe in that, in my DNA. In the spirit of that, there’s going to be no endorsement... At this level of influence, I will keep my politics to myself,” Johnson said.
His remarks came as Donald Trump and Joe Biden were locked in the presidential race, months before Biden dropped out and Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
“Like a lot of us out there, not trusting of all politicians, I do trust the American people, and whoever they vote for, that’s gonna be my president, and that’s who I’m gonna support 100 percent,” he continued.
