Tyrese Reflects on His Infamous Beef With Dwayne Johnson: 'It Really Just Came Down to Survival'

The 'F9' star looks back on an era of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise that fans will likely never forget, explaining to Fat Joe that he actually admires Johnson.

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Though it feels like it was eons ago now, the publicly-played-out issues between Tyrese and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson actually weren't that long ago. Still, enough time appears to have passed for Tyrese—who previously characterized Johnson as "breaking up the family" of the Fast & Furious franchise via a spinoff—to have gained a seemingly more meditative take on those issues.

Appearing on Fat Joe's Instagram series this week, the F9 star described himself as someone who's simply "too real to fake it." He also told Joe he has no issues with the Rock currently, further claiming that he never really did.

"It really just came down to survival," he said. "I think, at the end of the day, if you could ever see yourself saying 'You know what? I don't have a competitive bone in my body.' I pride myself literally on not beefing and not going at nobody, not having no issues with nobody. But, you know, I'm a hood n***a that will protect survival at all costs."

Regardless of the "politics" of the situation, Tyrese continued, he acknowledged that he was "very vocal" about his issues at the time and theorized that Johnson himself would understand why.

"It's not in me to say anything new about that man," he said. "I wish him the best. He's a great father and now a husband and, you know, literally if you look at footage and photos all over the internet, he's a giant bear. He's just a great, great guy with a big heart and we just kinda got into a situation that ended up playing out for the world to see. But I don't have any ill will feelings and we may end up doing Fast 10 and 11 together. You just never know."

Tyrese reiterated that any comments he made publicly came from a place of survival and noted that he has admiration for Johnson and how he handles his career.

"I got love for the Rock," he said. "I wish him well. He's one of the biggest movie stars in the world and I look up to him and respect him."

Below, catch the full Tyrese x Fat Joe discussion:

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