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Dwayne Johnson apologizes for asking those living 'paycheck to paycheck' to donate to his Maui wildfire fund
By Caroline Thayer
Published October 09, 2023
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is responding to backlash he received after asking his social media followers to donate to his Maui wildfire fund this summer.
Johnson, along with Oprah Winfrey, started the People’s Fund of Maui, pledging a combined $10 million to help with the devastation from the August fires on the Hawaiian island. Both stars implored people to contribute, prompting immediate criticism, to which the actor responded.
"When we first launched the fund, there was some backlash," Johnson admitted in a video shared to Instagram.
HAWAIIAN ACTOR JASON MOMOA IMPLORES PUBLIC TO NOT VISIT MAUI AS WILDFIRE DEVASTATION RAGES ON
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Dwayne Johnson apologized to his followers for asking them to donate to the Maui wildfire fund that he launched with Oprah Winfrey. (Bob Levey / Getty Images / File)
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"I get it, and I completely understand. And I could have been better. And next time I will be better. And I understand, you know, money ain't falling out of the sky and it's not growing on trees. And there's a lot of people out there living paycheck to paycheck, and I get it, and I know what that's like. I've lived paycheck to paycheck," he said.
Dwayne Johnson admitted he made a mistake in how he asked his followers to contribute to his fund. (Dwayne Johnson Instagram)
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"When you are living paycheck to paycheck, I don't want to speak for everybody, I'll speak for myself, but I feel it's connected. When you're living paycheck to paycheck, I was easily p----- off and I was frustrated. And the last thing you want to hear when you are living from paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money, especially when the person asking you for money already has a lot of money," he said.
"So, I get it, I understand. I'd never launched a fund before, but I'm a quick study and lesson learned."
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Johnson leveled with his fans, telling them that their opinions of him matter.
"If I do something and you guys love it, you let me know. … If I do something and you hate it, you let me know," he added.
Dwayne Johnson asked his followers to provide him with feedback on all of his endeavors. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images / File)
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According to Johnson, the first round of funds has been given to survivors of the Hawaiian fires.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dwayne-johnson-apologizes-asking-living-paycheck-paycheck-donate-maui-wildfire-fund