Dwayne Johnson has dropped the “people's elbow” on cancel culture, suggesting that it has only served to rob people of their creativity and ingenuity.
In an interview with Fox News (via Variety), Dwayne Johnson explained his view on wokeness in America, saying: “Today's cancel culture, woke culture, divisiveness, etc. — that's what really bothers me… And in the spirit of that, you either give in to that and be what other people want you to be, or be yourself and be real… and that can make people upset and angry.” And that's okay.” Johnson may have a point here, as we've seen cancel culture play its part in demanding not only those who deserve to be cancelled, but also those who may have said something that sensitive parties found offensive, thus launching a campaign to destroy their careers. In this sense, there is a certain level of care in the arts not to “irritate people” and thus stifle creativity.
Dwayne Johnson himself hasn't been afraid to piss anyone off lately, as he's steered WWE in a new direction and helped blur the line between reality and kayfabe. Johnson not only generated hype, but some controversy over his return when it looked as if he would face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, despite Cody Rhodes winning the Royal Rumble and thus a real shot at Reign's title. After some apparent shifting of storylines – and dynasties – the change not only led to a unique return for The Rock, but also some of the best storylines WWE has seen in years.
Instead, Dwayne Johnson will return to the squared circle this weekend for one night of Wrestlemania XL in Philadelphia, which is a big moment considering he hasn't had a match since Wrestlemania 32 (if you even want to list that, because he was) a varsity-long Six seconds before that his last match in Mania was at 29). One of the night's main events will see him team up – under his internal name The Rock – with Reigns to take on Rhodes and Seth “Freakin'” Rollins, the outcome of which will set the tone for the second night's main event between Reigns and Rhodes.
Do you agree with Dwayne Johnson on cancel culture? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
