Dwayne Johnson vows to keep politics private, focus on art

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says he is done making political endorsements, telling Esquire in a wide-ranging cover story that creativity and storytelling have become the driving forces of his life — and that politics has no place alongside them.

“What I have learned through experience is that I need to keep — need, not want — the main thing. 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,” Mr. Johnson told the magazine, according to Variety’s report on the interview.

“I’ve learned I’m going to keep my politics to myself,” he added. “I hate the slinging. I hate all the bulls—- that comes with it.”

The comments build on a position Mr. Johnson staked out in a 2024 Fox News interview, in which he declined to endorse any presidential candidate after backing Joe Biden in 2020. In that interview, he said the earlier endorsement caused “an incredible amount of division in our country” — something he said he had no intention of repeating.

“My goal is to bring this country together. I believe in that. There will be no endorsement. At this level of influence, I will keep my politics to myself. It is between me and the ballot box,” he said at the time.

The Esquire profile, published ahead of the release of Disney’s live-action “Moana” — in which Mr. Johnson reprises the role of the demigod Maui — also touched on artificial intelligence. Mr. Johnson said he has grown “cautiously interested, even excited” about the technology.

“I’ve always been an advocate for embracing big change — after taking a hard look at it,” he said. “We can either stick our heads in the sand and be afraid, or we can say, ’OK, we’re here. Let’s see. Let’s explore.’”