Dwayne Johnson claims that an interview in which he blasted "generation snowflake" is fake news. In fact, the supposed interview never even happened.
The Rock took to Instagram Friday afternoon after the alleged interview had caused a stir.
"Settin' the record straight. The interview never happened. Never said those words. 100% false," he captioned a video. "If I ever had an issue with someone, a group, community or a generation — I'd seek them out, create dialogue and do my best to understand them. Criticizing ain't my style. I don't cast stones and we all get to be who we are."
In the video, The Rock said he was "quite baffled" when he woke up to see an interview attributed to him.
"I always encourage empathy. I always encourage growth, but importantly, I encourage everybody to be exactly who they want to be," he said in the video.
Friday morning, U.K.'s Daily Star claimed that The Rock blasted the "generation snowflake" and implied that freedom of speech is under attack. Also, the paper claimed The Rock came down hard on this generation, saying they are essentially offended by everything.
"I don't have to agree with what somebody thinks, who they vote for, what they voted for, what they think, but I will back their right to say or believe it. That's democracy," a phony quote attributed to the actor said. "So many good people fought for freedom and equality – but this generation are looking for a reason to be offended. If you are not agreeing with them then they are offended – and that is not what so many great men and women fought for."
The Daily Star alleged that Dwayne, who's openly toyed with a possible presidential run, applauded the world for becoming more tolerant, but thought a certain generation was whining and potentially sending that positive change back.
"We thankfully now live in a world that has progressed over the last 30 or 40 years," the quote attributed to The Rock said. "People can be who they want, be with who they want, and live how they want. That can only be a good thing – but generation snowflake or, whatever you want to call them, are actually putting us backwards."
In his actual video, The Rock — the real one — said, "The interview never took place, never said any of those words. Completely untrue. One hundred percent fabricated."