Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson once broke the biggest news story on the planet — by accident.
Back in May 2011, before President Barack Obama even told the world that Osama bin Laden had been killed, The Rock had already tweeted about it. Yep, the muscle-bound movie icon somehow found out about the death of America’s most wanted terrorist — and let millions of fans know an hour early.
“I got a call from a friend of a friend,” Johnson said on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “They told me, ‘Hey, this thing happened.’ And I said, ‘Okay, wonderful news.’”
At the time, the “Moana” and “Fast & Furious” star was told the president’s speech was coming in 20 minutes. But instead of waiting, The Rock took to Twitter at 10:24 p.m. and wrote:
“Just got word that will shock the world – Land of the free… home of the brave. DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Obama didn’t go on TV until 11:35 p.m. — more than an hour later. Oops.
When he realized the president hadn’t spoken yet, The Rock panicked. “I got a second call and they said, ‘Yeah, the president didn’t go on yet.’ And I went, ‘Oh s—.’”
He’s never revealed his exact source — though he does have a cousin who’s a former Navy SEAL. “If I tell you that, I won’t have to kill you, but I’ll have to behead you,” he once joked. “I got friends in high places and low places.”
Apparently, those “friends” were proud to let him know about the mission that took down bin Laden. “It was a very interesting day,” Johnson said. “The individuals who were there were proud to let me know.”
Believe it or not, The Rock’s tweet barely made a ripple at the time — fewer than a thousand retweets. “2011 Twitter was weird,” one fan later commented. Today, it would’ve broken the internet.
Still, The Rock stands by his decision to post the patriotic message. “I thought it was appropriate that I tweet ‘I’m damn proud to be an American’ without giving away too much,” he said.
Guess that’s what happens when you have “friends in high places”… and zero patience for live TV delays.
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