Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently took time out of his busy day to address one reporter who made a “false” claim related to his Maui relief effort.
While Johnson has made it his business to offer support and relief to Maui in the wake of 2023 wildfires, one reporter decided to call his bluff. Independent journalist Nick Sortor went viral over the weekend after he claimed Johnson was booed at a WWE press conference in Las Vegas for not doing enough for the people of Maui.
“Oprah and Dwayne @TheRock Johnson promised TENS OF MILLIONS to the victims of the Maui fires, but many victims still have not seen a dime,” Sortor tweeted
. “It looks like the audience is fully AMERICA FIRST and is demanding The Rock and Oprah follow through with their commitment to take care of the people of Lahaina.”“The crowd started booing and chanting “MAUI! MAUI! MAUI!” he added.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, Johnson caught wind of the “false” report and issued a lengthy response to Sortor, shutting down his claim and providing more context as to why he was booed at the wrestling event and his continued relief to the people of Maui.
“This moment you’re referring to is from our @WWE press conference this past Thursday
where I turned “heel” – wrestling parlance for [a] bad guy,” he explained. “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 continued, “Our People’s Fund of Maui has already DELIVERED over $50 MILLION DOLLARS to over 8,000 survivors who were affected by the fires, and I’m grateful to the bone that we’ve been the primary funders.”
The Fast and Furious star, who has roots in Hawaii, went on to share his upbringing in Hawaii as well as how he spends parts of the year there raising his children. He also praised the resilience of the Polynesian community in Hawaii.
“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,” Johnson wrote. “Our Poly American people are as resilient as people come, and they will [rise] and get back on their feet.”
Sortor followed up in a separate tweet and seemingly admitted
using the moment as clickbait to bring media attention back to Maui relief efforts.Johnson and Oprah Winfrey teamed up last year to launch a fund dedicated to providing aid and relief to victims of Hawaii’s August 2023 wildfires on the island of Maui. The natural disaster is considered the country’s deadliest wildfire in more than 100 years, with an estimated 2,170 acres of land burned and approximately 100 lives lost. The People’s Fund of Maui, which Johnson and Winfrey launched last August with a $10 million donation, remains active.