Feud Over: Vin Diesel Praises Dwayne Johnson’s “Unforgettable” Role in ‘Smashing Machine’
Vin Diesel is openly showing support for Dwayne Johnson again, and it looks like their long-running feud is finally behind them.
The news comes from Diesel’s recent Instagram post, where he shared an old photo of the two of them on a movie set and wrote a long message about their history and his respect for Johnson.
Diesel said in the post that one of the best things in life is building real friendships. He talked about meeting Mark Kerr years ago when he first moved to California, saying that Kerr helped him early in his action-movie career.
Diesel connected this memory to Johnson’s new performance as Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.” About that moment in his past, he wrote, “In a beautiful way, he was there at the beginning of my action career. That’s the kind of friend he’s been from day one.”
He then shifted to celebrating Johnson and their time working together in the “Fast and Furious” world. Diesel said people often don’t realize how much pressure comes with being a global star. He shared that a fan once suggested he team up with Johnson, and that comment eventually led to their intense but memorable partnership on screen. Diesel wrote, “What followed became one of the most dynamic pairings in cinema, two strong personalities who pushed each other and created something unforgettable.” He also praised how fully Johnson committed to playing Hobbs, saying Johnson left a permanent mark on the franchise.
Toward the end of the post, Diesel talked about Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” saying, “Dwayne really did it… He brought us back in time and shined doing it.”
The two actors had a widely known disagreement years ago while making the “Fast and Furious” movies. Their issues became public back in 2016 when Johnson posted on Instagram and called out a “chicken s****” and “candy a**” co-star, who was eventually revealed to be Diesel.
Diesel later explained in a 2021 Men’s Health interview that he used what he called “tough love” to push Johnson creatively during filming. He said at the time, “It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character,” and described how he tried to help audiences accept Johnson in a more serious, cinematic role.
Diesel’s new message suggests that whatever tension existed between them has faded, and he seems genuinely proud of Johnson’s recent work. The post, shared on his personal Instagram, serves as the source of this update on their relationship.
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