Things got awkward when actor Vin Diesel presented the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement at last night's award ceremony and tried to give a shoutout to his Fast & Furious co-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson amid their longtime feud.
Before addressing the nominees or beginning his speech, Diesel unexpectedly shifted focus, locking eyes with someone in the audience. Staring directly at Johnson, Diesel casually said, “Hey Dwayne.” The camera immediately cut to Johnson, who responded with an awkward grin that quickly faded into a more neutral expression.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
But why was that moment so uncomfortable?
For those unaware, the longstanding feud between Johnson and Diesel has been widely publicized. The tension began in 2016 when Johnson praised his female co-stars in a social media post but criticized some of his male co-stars as “candy asses.” Johnson later confirmed to Rolling Stone that he was specifically referring to Diesel, marking the start of a years-long public clash.
At the time, Johnson said:
"What I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating. It took me some time, but I’m grateful for that clarity.”
Diesel, for his part, admitted to giving Johnson a hard time on set, implying it was a deliberate tactic to enhance his performance. He explained that "my approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be."
In 2021, two years after the massive success of his Hobbs & Shaw spinoff with Jason Statham, Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter there were no plans for his character to return to the franchise. Reacting to Diesel’s comments, he said, "I laughed and I laughed hard."
Since then, the feud has escalated, with Johnson accusing Diesel of “manipulation” and announcing a new Hobbs spinoff movie. However, by 2023, Johnson declared the feud over, stating that he and Diesel have "been like brothers for years, and despite our differences, when you lead with — number one, resolve — but also you think about the future and plans that are much bigger than ourselves.”
Even so, the moment between the two still struck many as undeniably awkward.
Johnson made his return to the Fast & Furious franchise with Fast X last year, his first appearance in four years, and is set to appear in the next installment. However, it remains unclear whether his next appearance will be in the forthcoming film or another entry in the saga starring Diesel. Multiple films within the mainline series are currently in development.
These films always perform very well and are clear audience favorites—but it remains to be seen how those two might interact on set and what we might hear eventually.
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