The Rock addresses backlash received over his and Oprah Winfrey's Maui fundraiser
WWE legend Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey received backlash from many people after they started a fundraiser in August and asked the public to donate.
The two renowned celebrities donated $5 million each to the People's Fund of Maui to help people who lost their homes and were affected by the Maui wildfires. They encouraged others to pitch in as well. However, many people criticized them for contributing too little and asking others who may be struggling to donate as well, while they both have a combined estimated net worth of nearly $4 billion.
During a recent appearance on the What Now? with Trevor Noah podcast, The Rock stated that he was confused at first when the backlash happened, as he was just doing what he could to help his people.
"I woke up the next morning wondering the same thing, thinking, what? what happened? Did I miss something? Wait, what? So it took me a couple of weeks to really process that and I felt like that moment was a pivotal moment for me in my life for a few reasons. Number one, I want to go back to the brass tacks of it, and the whole idea of creating this fund, the People's Fund of Maui, was to help people and help survivors, and Trev, these are my people, these are my Polynesian people, my Hawaiian Kanako, Ohana, my grandparents were all buried in the island, you know, so it meant so much to me and I know it meant so much to our people that we were able to come together and create this fund. Over 8000 survivors, by the way, we are helping right now, it was really beautiful. What's interesting is when all the backlash started to happen and it started to come our way, so I always feel like in moments like that, it's important not to get caught up in it," The Rock said. [23:12 - 24:30]
You can check out the entire podcast below:
The Rock went on to mention that he did not want to respond to the backlash immediately, but he later managed to understand where it was coming from.
The Rock made his long-awaited return to WWE in September 2023
The Rock is undoubtedly one of the greatest superstars in WWE history, and he is one of the biggest names to ever come out of pro wrestling. He had a successful career in the Stamford-based company, where he was presented as a top star, and after he left, he established himself as an even bigger name in Hollywood.
After being away from WWE TV for several years, The Rock made a surprise return on the September 15, 2023, episode of SmackDown, where he got into a confrontation with Austin Theory. He also reunited with John Cena backstage. It will be interesting to see whether he will have another match in the squared circle in the near future.
Who is your dream opponent for The Rock? Sound off in the comments section below!
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit What Now? with Trevor Noah and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.