It’s been pretty quiet since we last checked in with the Fast & Furious family. Tyrese Gibson was carrying on a largely one-sided Instagram beef with Dwayne Johnson, but it was light-hearted enough, and based on a such a weird interpretation of how the business of Hollywood is done, that you had to wonder if it was a work.
Everything is pro wrestling, after all. And it wouldn’t be the Fast franchise’s first conflict that many assumed to be manufactured. Or as Cracked’s John Cheese said of Tyrese being upset that Johnson’s character’s spinoff film would be shot and released before the ninth film in the main series, “I'm going to prefer to think of it as a genius form of advertisement, because I can't handle the thought of grown-ass adults being that ungodly f***ing stupid.”
Work or not - in a post from earlier today (Nov. 1), Gibson escalated things:
Refusing to take part in what will likely be another movie that grosses a billion-plus dollars is an interesting career move. Of more interest to fans of Dwayne’s WWE persona, The Rock, is the not-so-subtle steroids allegation:
“All my real one.... Men on integrity... my real ones out here stand UP...... folks that GP to the gym and get big naturally #NoJuice”
Johnson likely falls under the same exemption in The ‘E’s Wellness Policy as Brock Lesnar, he’s not currently under contract to them, and he’s not participating in any other athletic competitions. But if Gibson is hinting at what we think he’s hinting at (and, let’s be honest, he’d be far from the first person to think it) he is saying Rock is doing something illegal, and that he gets his physique from something other than the hard work and exercise he’s always posting about on Twitter and Instagram.
It’s a pretty big pivot from joking about someone being two-faced to dropping hashtags that could threaten a man’s brand, is what I’m saying. Especially if this is all a marketing campaign.
Gibson has been in the media a bit lately for other things, none of them great. He’s in the midst of a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife over their daughter, who he can currently only see in monitored visits while courts address his ex’s claims of abuse and domestic violence.
Since he’s dealing with a stressed out former(?) co-worker, and because it doesn’t really benefit him to get down in the mud to fight a fight he’s already winning, don’t expect any response from Johnson.
Unless this is all a publicity stunt, and then we’ll probably get to smell what The Rock is cooking.