Vin Diesel Has Finally Revealed What May Have Sparked His Feud With Dwayne Johnson

That’s right: don’t expect Diesel and Johnson to be launching a Planet Hollywood-style restaurant franchise together any time soon. The two stars initially appeared to keep things cordial when they worked alongside each other in 2011’s Fast Five. But by the time The Fate of the Furious arrived five years later, Johnson and Diesel were engaging in public slanging matches.

The reason behind the feud remained a mystery for several years. But while promoting the ninth chapter of the long-running action franchise in 2021, Diesel began to open up in an interview with Men’s Health magazine. And what the muscleman had to say surprised long-time The Fast and the Furious fans.

Diesel, of course, helped to kick-start the series way back in 2001 as mechanic Dominic Toretto. The action hero starred alongside the late Paul Walker in The Fast and Furious, a high-octane thriller about the illicit world of New York street racing. Although a hit at the box office, nothing signified that this was the beginning of one of the biggest Hollywood franchises of the 21st century.

In fact, 2 Fast 2 Furious made little cultural impact when it hit cinemas in 2003. It was the same story with Tokyo Drift three years later. Of course, Diesel had been notably absent from both films. It was only when the action man and several other popular cast members returned for Fast and Furious in 2009 that the series truly began to take shape.

Johnson upped the star power even further in 2011 when he joined the franchise for Fast Five. The former wrestler made an instant impression as Luke Hobbs, a government agent. This was also the film which left the world of street racing entirely behind. Instead, it focused on Mission Impossible-style espionage and increasingly elaborate stunts which defied the laws of physics. 

Take Furious 7, for example, where [spoiler alert] cars were able to essentially fly across several skyscrapers and parachute out of aircraft. In 2021’s F9, the series even goes into space! But fans lapped up every single enjoyably ridiculous set-piece. A week after the release of the ninth chapter, it was revealed that the franchise had now grossed a total of more than $6 billion!

By this point, the Fast and Furious universe had also spawned a spinoff. In 2019 Johnson reprised his government agent role to star alongside Jason Statham in Hobbs and Shaw. Yet much to fans’ disappointment, his character didn’t return to the main series for F9. Instead, he was replaced by another former wrestler, John Cena, who was cast as Toretto’s estranged sibling.

Diesel may well have been relieved that he no longer had to play opposite his apparent nemesis. But how did news of their rivalry first emerge? Well, it was Johnson who sparked rumors in 2016 when he took to Instagram to rant about a fellow Fast 8 cast member. He began, “My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars, however, are a different story.”

Johnson went on to add, “Some conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too... [cowardly] to do anything about it anyway.” Although the actor didn’t name the target of his wrath, another co-star appeared to confirm it was Diesel.

That’s right: shortly after Johnson’s post, Tyrese Gibson captioned a photo of himself and Diesel, “I’m so...[very] 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, Let's keep it positive and keep rockin’ this thing.”

Johnson then appeared to confirm that he’d been referring to Diesel when he gave the Fast 8 cast a shout-out on Instagram. The ex-wrestler thanked everyone from director F. Gary Gray to co-stars Natalie Emmanuel and Scott Eastwood in the post. But Diesel’s name was notably absent from the love-in.

Diesel certainly wasn’t in any doubt about who Johnson had been referring to. Following all the Instagram shade, the xXx lead uploaded a video to the same platform in which he said, “Honestly, give me a second and I will tell you everything. Everything.” But it took another Fast and Furious co-star to officially confirm the beef.

Michelle Rodriguez told Us Weekly magazine in 2016 that there had been tension between Johnson and Diesel during the shoot of The Fate of the Furious. But she also claimed that it was a case of just bros being bros. The actress added, “Any human being who knows what men are like knows to stay out [of those] situations and let them figure it out.”

Diesel appeared to have figured things out by the following year. Referring to his relationship with Johnson, he told newspaper 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.”

Johnson was also applauded for his professionalism by Diesel in another chat with TV show Entertainment Tonight. The actor said, “When I was making that difficult decision, should there be an... [eighth installment] or not, I called [Johnson] and he said, ‘Brother, I will be there shoulder-to-shoulder with you to make sure it’s the best movie in history.’ And he delivered.”

Speaking at the same premiere, Johnson was less effusive about his co-star but remained diplomatic about their situation. He said, “Just like, in life, you have different philosophies and people have different fundamental philosophies on how you do things. And again, the most important thing is just the movie. So I’m happy that we’re here in New York City, I’m happy the fans love it.”

Johnson also adopted a relatively neutral stance in a 2018 chat with Rolling Stone. He told the magazine, “Vin and I had a few discussions, including an important face-to-face in my trailer.” The ex-WWE star then spoke of the moment he realized how different their collaborative and film-making processes were before adding, “It took me some time, but I'm grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not.”

By this point it looked as though Johnson versus Gibson had become the dominant Fast and Furious feud. In a chat with website TMZ, the latter described the former as selfish for delaying F9 with his Hobbs and Shaw spin-off. He added, “It appears that he’s [Johnson] so focused on furthering his own self-interests [sic].”

The following summer Johnson told Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen he had been surprised by Gibson’s remarks. The actor said, “It was pretty disappointing because I’ve been friends with Tyrese for a very long time. And, you know, I always feel like a beef requires two people to actually jump in it, and it was really one-sided and he had voiced his opinion a lot on social media.”

Johnson had actually been backed up by Diesel over Gibson’s claims. In a 2017 Instagram post, the Pitch Black star wrote, “I know there has been a lot of speculation as to why the Fast 9 release date was pushed… but it would be unfair to say it is anyone’s fault. As we plot the course to expand the Fast and Furious universe, one must be mindful to take stock of the roads we took to get here.”

If you were hoping that any Fast and Furious beef would be settled on the screen, then you’re out of luck. According to newspaper The Wall Street Journal, both Diesel and Johnson have stipulated in their contracts that their characters can’t ever be seen as being defeated in a fight. The former apparently even created a complex set of metrics to ensure that no tough guy took more blows than any other.

In any case, things appeared to have settled down by the time Hobbs and Shaw hit screens in 2019. Johnson even expressed gratitude toward Diesel for his support of the film in an Instagram video clip before hinting that their two Fast and Furious characters would meet again. Johnson said, “I’ll be seeing you soon, Toretto.”

Whether Johnson still feels the same way in the year 2021 remains to be seen. For while promoting F9 in an interview with magazine Men’s Health, Diesel brought up the subject of their feud. And by calling Johnson’s acting pedigree into question, he may well have risked destroying their apparent truce.

Yes, although Johnson wasn’t even in the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, he still inadvertently ended up grabbing the headlines. The latest drama began when Diesel told the publication, “It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character. My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be.”

Diesel continued, “As a producer to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know.’ Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks. That’s something that I’m proud of, that aesthetic.”

Seems as though Diesel likes blowing his own trumpet. And he wasn’t done there, either. The muscleman went on to add, “That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Fellini-esque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get performances in anything I’m producing.”

And yet some fans believe that Diesel’s comments didn’t quite add up. Although Johnson will forever be synonymous with the WWE, he was already a well-established actor by the time he joined the Fast and Furious franchise. Only the year previously he had appeared in no fewer than five mainstream films including Faster, Tooth Fairy and The Other Guys.

Prior to that, Johnson had fronted box-office hits such as The Game Plan, Gridiron Gang and Walking Tall. Further proof of his acceptance in Hollywood came in 2008 when he was asked to present an award at the Oscars. In other words, he was hardly the novice actor that Diesel seemed to be suggesting.

The Men’s Health interview inspired several fans to come to Johnson’s defense on social media. One remarked, “The idea of Vin Diesel giving acting advice to a fellow actor is something else.” Another quipped, “But he also can’t act so what did he teach him...??” Then there was the fan who tweeted, “The Rock is Laurence Olivier compared to Vin Diesel. This is hilarious.”

But not everyone was completely pro-Johnson. One follower responded, “Vin Diesel unquestionably the one to root for in Vin V Rock.” And another argued that both actors had their pros and cons, tweeting, “I think the way to thread the needle here: The Rock is a much better actor but also more annoying than Vin Diesel.”

Johnson hasn’t yet publicly responded to Diesel’s explanation about the roots of their feud. But an entertainment insider named Daniel Richtman alleges that the former wrestler doesn’t see things the same way. In fact, Johnson apparently claims that he was the one suggesting that his co-star needed some more acting training.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time that Diesel had tried to discuss his authority over Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise. In 2017 he told USA Today, “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.”

And in a 2017 Instagram post, Diesel appeared to claim that he was solely responsible for Johnson coming on board the franchise. He wrote, “A woman named Jan Kelly responded to a question I had asked on Facebook, ‘Who they would like to see me work with?’ She said [she] would love to see me work with Dwayne... I listened to her request and he became Hobbs.”

Fans will be hoping that Diesel’s interview with Men’s Health doesn’t jeopardize a future reunion between Hobbs and Toretto. In 2020 Universal Pictures announced that following the release of F9, there would be a further two Fast and Furious films. But after more than 20 years of pedal-to-the-metal action, they would then be calling time on the series.

Justin Lin, who will direct the last two movies, certainly isn’t averse to bringing Johnson back. He told website CinemaBlend, “So many of the conversations I have is about characters that are not even in there, but are still, obviously, they are living and breathing in this universe. On this one, when I came back, I was thinking a lot about Hobbs and Shaw, and all of the other characters. I never think of them as being gone, for sure.”

But it seems as though Diesel is reluctant to say a permanent goodbye to the franchise that made him a bona fide star. In 2021 Variety magazine reported that the action hero was working on yet another spinoff for a Fast and Furious character. Instead of Hobbs and Shaw, this film would center on Charlize Theron’s Cipher.

Diesel appeared to explain why he can’t let go during a 2021 interview with newspaper Irish News. He remarked, “My father used to say, ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life.’ And what I’ve learned from doing this franchise is the only thing better than that, is doing what you love with the people you love. And I can say that is the most rewarding aspect of doing Fast And Furious.”

Of course, Diesel still has plenty other projects outside the Fast and Furious universe in the pipeline. In 2022 he will feature in Avatar 2 and once again lend his voice to Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The tough guy also has signed up to reprise his role of Riddick in Furya and will play an as-yet-unnamed character in the aptly-titled Muscle.

Johnson is also enjoying a prolific phase in his career. He’s put his name to several new projects including Black Adam, Doc Savage and Red Notice. The former wrestler will also once again play Raymond Gaines in the sequel to San Andreas, star in a remake of Big Trouble in Little China and voice Krypto in animation Super Pets.