Dwayne Johnson opens up about regrets four years after his father’s death
Dwayne Johnson, Rocky Johnson.
Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.Dwayne Johnson regrets not making things right with his late WWE wrestler father Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnsonbefore his sudden death in 2020.
The Black Adam actor, 51, took to Instagram on Friday, March 1, to share a throwback video about himself as a child and how his father raised a title belt in the air after a wrestling match.
“Just delivering flowers to heaven to my old man, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson,” Dwayne captioned the post. “My father, along with ‘Mr USA’ Tony Atlas, made professional wrestling history by becoming the first ever Black Heavyweight Tag Team Champions for the @WWE.”
He continued: “He came the hard way and was groundbreaking for all of us men of color – in every sport and level of entertainment. But it was also very important to him to pave the way for all men, regardless of skin color – it didn’t matter. I regret in this life that I never had the chance to say goodbye to him because he died suddenly. I regret not being able to reconcile our complicated father/son relationship before I lost him. Raised me with tough fatherly love and an even tougher hand. The more I live, the more grateful I am for it.”
Proud girl daddy! Dwayne Johnson loves life with his three daughters: Simone, Jasmine and Tiana. The actor welcomed his eldest with his then-wife, Dany Garcia, in May 1997. Following his divorce from Garcia a decade later, Johnson welcomed Jasmine and Tiana with Lauren Hashian in December 2016 and April 2018, respectively. He and the […]
Dwayne concluded his post by saying, “See you down the road, Soulman 🕊️ 💐.”
Fans shared their condolences and memories of Dwayne’s father in the comments section. “WOW! Your dad was definitely an inspiration,” one user wrote. A second added, “I saw your dad wrestle in WCCW in Dallas when I was a kid.”
The Rock has spoken out about his father, who died of a heart attack in January 2020, often expressing regret for not putting their differences aside. The two were not on speaking terms at the time of Rocky’s death.
In August 2023, Dwayne shared an Instagram video of himself speaking to an audience for his father’s birthday.
From a macho wrestler to a loving girl daddy! After welcoming their two daughters, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his wife, Lauren Hashian, have shared several precious family moments over the years, including cuddling with the family, singing Moana songs and more. Johnson first met his bride while filming The Game Plan in Boston in 2006. The couple hit it off […]
“I wish I had one more chance,” he said in the video, holding back tears. “I wish I had one more chance to say ‘goodbye,’ to say ‘I love you,’ to say ‘thank you,’ to say ‘I respect you.’ But I have the feeling he’s watching. He listens.”
He continued, “My father taught me that ‘respect is given when it’s earned, so go out and earn it.’ Basically he’d say, ‘So go out there and earn it.’ He made sure I was in the gym, even when I was five he kicked me on the wrestling mats.
Shortly after his father’s death, Dwayne shared a throwback video of his father’s wrestling.
“I love you,” he captioned the Instagram post. “You broke the color barriers, became a ring legend and blazed a trail through the ring [sic] this world. I was the boy who sat on the chairs and watched you and adored you, my hero from a distance.”
Rocky began his professional wrestling career in the mid-1960s and retired in 1991. The father-son duo were once close, with Dwayne gifting his father a new home in March 2019, noting that it “felt good” to give him something so special to give.
A month earlier, Dwayne called his father to tell him he wanted to ‘do something for’ [him]’ by buying him a house. The Jungle cruise star shared how the conversation unfolded with his father in a Instagram video.
“It’s a big weekend, he’s going to look at properties,” Dwayne said of his father in the clip. “He’s a Florida guy, so he goes to North Florida and looks and he’s like, ‘I’m so excited.’ I’m so nervous too.’ My father is an old-fashioned, tough guy.”