Dwayne Johnson: No Regrets About 'Candy Asses' Callout on 'Fast 8'

Dwayne Johnson is Hollywood’s highest paid actor of 2016. He has numerous projects coming down the pipeline. And now he’s been named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” So, if you think he regrets talking smack about his Fast and Furious franchise co-star Vin Diesel, well, think again.

Earlier this year, Johnson used an Instagram post (see it below) to call out the “candy asses” he was working with on Fast 8. Later reports said he was referring to fellow bald-headed action star Diesel.

The two had apparently been at odds for months, and when Johnson was recently asked by the Los Angeles Times about the incident, the heavyweight superstar didn’t back down from his prior comments:

“I was very clear with what I said. I’ve been in the game a long time,” he said with a knowing smile. “Would Universal [Pictures] have preferred that didn’t happen? Sure, we talked about it. The irony is after that and as they do their tracking and all their analysis, the interest shot through the roof to a whole other level.”

Related: Vin Diesel Says The Rock’s ‘Fast and Furious’ Character Was Originally Intended for Tommy Lee Jones

Those sentiments follow earlier attempts to walk back the conflict, but it’s clear Johnson — whose latest venture, as the voice of demi-god Maui in Disney’s Moana, hits theaters this Wednesday — remains convinced that he was justified in saying what he did. Whether or not his rift with Diesel widens in the months to come, it should do nothing to diminish intense interest in the latest installment in the auto-mayhem series, which roars into theaters on April 14, 2017.

Would the Rock run for president? “Of course, I would”: