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Dwayne Johnson Regrets Infamous Instagram Post: "It Wasn't My Best Day."

His social media post kicked off a public feud that lasted years.

Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel's feud stemming from their time working on the Fast & Furious movies is pretty notorious, and now, Johnson is further explaining his side of things, including a major regret. In 2016, Johnson posted an Instagram complaining about his male co-stars on the eighth Fast & Furious movie, The Fate of the Furious, and it was obvious that he was including Diesel in that gripe, especially as more information came out. The feud continued from there, and the actors are still not friendly. However, in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Johnson admits that he regrets the Instagram post—but not because he didn't mean what he said. Read on to learn more.

RELATED: The Most Dramatic Feuds in Hollywood History.

Johnson didn't hold back on his dislike of Diesel in the post.

Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel at the premiere of "Fast Five" in Rio de Janeiro in April 2011
Buda Mendes/LatinContent via Getty Images

Johnson posted about his co-stars from The Fate of the Furious on Instagram in August 2016. The post has since been deleted. As reported by Today, Johnson wrote in the caption that his women co-stars "are always amazing and I love 'em," but the men "are a different story." He continued, "Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't. The ones that don't are too chicken s*** to do anything about it anyway. Candy a**es. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I'm not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling—you're right."

Rumors about tensions between the two on the set soon followed.

Vin Diesel at the premiere of "Bloodshot" in March 2020
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Not long after Johnson posted his Instagram, a report came out in which a source claimed that Diesel and Johnson were not getting along on set. This source told Entertainment Tonight that Johnson got upset that Diesel was late to set more than once. "At the end of production Dwayne was really over Vin's bulls***," the source told ET. "As far as I know, they haven't spoken since they left set."

The Fast & Furious feud went on to also involve franchise star Tyrese Gibson, who blamed Johnson for the release of the ninth movie being pushed back in 2017, as reported by Us Weekly. Diesel refuted this accusation in an Instagram post of his own. Alongside a photo of himself and Johnson, he wrote, "Brotherhood… and all its complexities," before going to explain that it was no one person's fault that the movie's release date was moved.

Now, Johnson regrets taking a public shot at Diesel, even without naming him.

Dwayne Johnson at the premiere of "Rampage" in April 2018
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Johnson said of his reason for writing the post, "Nothing specific happened, just the same old s***. And that just wasn't my best day."

He further explained, "It caused a firestorm. Yet interestingly enough…[it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note. But, yeah, it wasn't my best day, sharing that. I shouldn't have shared that. Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don't share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bulls*** away from the public. They don't need to know that. That's why I say it wasn't my best day."

However, it isn't the content of the post that he regrets.

"I meant what I said," Johnson continued. "For sure. I mean what I say when I say it. But to express it publicly was not the right thing to do."

Johnson and Diesel attempted to reconcile.

Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel at the premiere of "Fast Five" in Rio de Janeiro in April 2011
Buda Mendes/LatinContent via Getty Image

Johnson and Diesel did meet up to try to find common ground, but it seems that they'll never see eye-to-eye. In 2018, Johnson told Rolling Stone (via Us Weekly), "What I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating. It took me some time, but I'm grateful for that clarity. I wish him all the best and I harbor no ill will there, just because of the clarity we have. Actually, you can erase that last part about 'no ill will.' We'll just keep it with the clarity."

Johnson also talked about this conversation in the Vanity Fair interview and confirmed that he agreed to do the eighth movie as long as he wouldn't have scenes with Diesel. He explained, "I wanted to forgo drama. I thought that that was the best thing to do. For everybody."

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Diesel has shared his own take on the situation.

Vin Diesel at the premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War" in April 2018
Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

The Vanity Fair interview notes that Diesel recently spoke to Men's Health about his history with Johnson and made a cutting comment about his former co-star's acting skills. "We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque," he said referencing Italian director Federico Fellini, "but I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances in anything I'm producing."

Johnson told Vanity Fair that Diesel's claim was "bulls***" and explained again that he and Diesel are very different people. "[W]hen I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed," he said. "I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I'm sure Fellini is laughing too."

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Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more
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