Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has spent much of his career entertaining audiences rather than lecturing them, and in a new interview he made it clear he intends to keep it that way.
Speaking with Esquire for the magazine’s Summer Issue cover story, the actor and former professional wrestling superstar explained why he has stepped away from public political endorsements and grown increasingly frustrated with the toxic nature of modern political discourse.
“What I have learned through experience is that I need to keep — need, not want — the main thing the main thing,” Johnson said. “And the main thing for me, the thing that in the morning I swing my legs out of bed and I run towards, is creating. It’s art. It’s storytelling. I’ve learned I’m going to keep my politics to myself.”
The comments point to a significant shift from Johnson’s approach during the 2020 election, when he made headlines by endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. At the time, many celebrities were eager to leverage their platforms for political causes. Johnson now appears far less convinced that celebrity political activism produces positive results.
“Politics is omnipresent and it’s forever,” Johnson said. “I don’t like it. I hate it at times. I hate the slinging. I hate all the bulls— that comes with it.”
His remarks came during a discussion about Bruce Springsteen, who has repeatedly used his current concert tour to criticize President Donald Trump. Rather than applauding the public attacks, Johnson suggested something increasingly rare in modern politics: direct conversation.
“When I hear you talk about Springsteen, who I love, and this idea that he’s speaking directly to Trump in his concerts, my first thought was, ‘Oh, then why don’t they talk? They should sit down and talk,'” Johnson said. “I don’t know where that goes, but I do know that’s an important step.”
That sentiment aligns closely with Johnson’s explanation for why he declined to endorse a candidate during the 2024 presidential election. During an earlier interview with Fox News host Will Cain, Johnson revealed that he came to regret the divisive fallout that followed his endorsement of Biden four years earlier.
“The endorsement that I made years ago with Biden was what I thought was the best decision for me at that time,” Johnson said. “Am I going to do that again? That answer’s no.”
According to Johnson, the reaction to his endorsement forced him to confront an uncomfortable reality.
“What I realized that what that caused back then was something that tears me up in my guts, which is division,” he explained.
The actor said he eventually concluded that his influence was better used bringing people together rather than encouraging further political tribalism.
“My goal is to bring our country together,” Johnson said. “I believe in that, in my DNA. So in the spirit of that, there’s going to be no endorsement.”
Johnson’s discomfort with today’s political climate extends beyond elections. He has also spoken critically about cancel culture, identity politics, and the pressure many public figures face to conform to prevailing ideological expectations.
“To be real and to be direct and to be open and to be transparent—that’s important to me,” Johnson said. “In today’s easy cancel culture world and cancel culture, woke culture, this culture, that culture division, etc., that really bugs me.”
His view is that authenticity matters more than avoiding controversy.
“You either succumb and be what you think other people want you to be, or you go, ‘No, that’s not who I am. I’m going to be myself and I’m going to be real,'” Johnson said.
Johnson has also shown a willingness to acknowledge positive actions by political figures regardless of party. Following the assassination attempt against Trump during the 2024 campaign, he publicly condemned the attack and praised the president’s response.
“Whether you love Donald, don’t love Donald, it doesn’t matter. They tried to assassinate him. There’s no room for that,” Johnson said at the time. “Him standing up at that moment, we wanted to see that.”
