"I could have been better"- When Dwayne Johnson made his feelings clear about the backlash he faced over Maui Donations

Dwayne Johnson is among the most beloved actors in Hollywood right now and has been so for the past few years. He is also among the highest-paid actors in the world. However, even the most beloved stars are not devoid of criticism and it happened to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson over a venture where he had not expected such controversy.

Johnson and Oprah Winfrey announced a fund to support people impacted by the deadly fires in Maui in 2023 and asked fans to donate, but this took a sour turn as fans hit out on the pair for dodging their own social responsibilities by asking people to do the hard part. Many fans hit out at the pair saying that they had so much money that they could make it back in no time, and hence should not be asking fans for donations.

While initially quiet about this backlash, Dwayne Johnson addressed this controversy with a video on his Instagram profile, where he told his fans that he understood the backlash and that he would try to be better in the future. Johnson said in the video, as reported by Vanity Fair:

"When we first launched the fund, there was some backlash … I want to say that I get it, and I completely understand."

He added:

"I could have been better, and next time, I will be better. I understand money ain't falling out of the sky, and it's not growing on trees, and there's a lot of people out there who's living paycheck to paycheck. And I get it, and I know what that's like. I've lived paycheck to paycheck, seven bucks. I know."

Dwayne Johnson further expanded on how he understood why he was facing the backlash and attempted to empathize with the fans.

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"The last thing you want to hear when you are living from paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money"- Dwayne Johnson on the backlash he faced

After not initially commenting on this unexpected response from fans, Dwayne Johnson finally opened up about the backlash in a video that he posted on his Instagram and empathized with the fans, claiming that he understood the source of this backlash.

He further spoke about this in the video, saying:

"And when you are living paycheck to paycheck—I don't wanna speak for everybody. I'll speak for myself, but I feel it's connected. When you're living paycheck to paycheck...I was easily pissed off, and I was frustrated. And the last thing you want to hear when you are living from paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money, especially when the person asking you for money already has a lot of money."

Dwayne Johnson concluded:

"So I get it. I understand. I'd never launched a fund before, but I'm a quick study and lesson learned."

Looking back now, this seems like a brilliant response to some brutal backlash and it once again proves why Johnson remains one of the most beloved figures in Hollywood at the moment.

The 52-year-old actor is now also seemingly switching directions in his Hollywood career. He wants to do more serious acting and is soon going to appear in A24's The Smashing Machine, which is set to release in 2025.

We expect to see much more from Johnson in the coming years.