Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson couldn’t hold back his emotions while speaking about his eldest daughter, Simone Johnson, on the red carpet.
The actor attended the London premiere of his MMA biopic The Smashing Machine on September 24, accompanied by Simone — who wrestles under the ring name Ava Raine.
“Oh man, I’m so proud of her,” Johnson said, stepping away briefly to compose himself. Simone joked to him, “You got it, lock in.”
Johnson continued, “I got it, I’m going to lock in. I’m so proud of her. It’s what I did, you know? And I love what I did. I love wrestling. I grew up in wrestling. She was born into it too, just like I was, and she said, ‘Hey, I want to do what you do.’ But the difference is — and why I get emotional — is that she said, ‘I want to do what you do, but I want to carve my own path.’ And that’s the difference.”
He added, “It was a big deal when I heard that because it’s easy for any kid who wants to follow in their parents’ footsteps to lean on their influence. I’m telling you, that never happened. I never got that call like, ‘Hey, can you call someone?’ I never got that call.”
Johnson posted on Instagram and spoke more about this emotional moment. “Just got caught up in the moment. If you’re a dad, then I know you know.”
“Props to this interviewer from @mtvuk @mtv for starting the interview by giving my daughter, Simone, HER flowers. Usually all interviews will start with a question about me. Thanks that was really cool of you 🙏🏾👊🏾”.
The star has three daughters: Simone, whom he shares with ex-wife Dany Garcia, as well as Jasmine Johnson, 9, and Tiana Johnson, 6, who he shares with his current wife, Lauren Hashian.When Simone made her WWE debut in October of 2022 she said in an interview, “It means the world to me to know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle but to carry on that legacy.”
