Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Addresses Rumors That He Owns a $32 Million T-Rex Skull
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Rumor has it that Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson owns a $32 million dollar T-Rex skull that he casually keeps in his office. But, as we all know, rumors often aren't entirely true.
Thankfully for paleontologists and fans alike, The Rock is setting the record straight about his recently unearthed prehistoric pal Stan.
On January 17, The Rock appeared on Peyton and Eli Manning's Manning Cast on NFL's Monday Night Football along with an unexpected special guest. Johnson videoed in from his home office, which features a gigantic T-Rex skull. And the internet could not keep cool.
On the show, Eli Manning pointed out the dino decor (because how could one not point out a literal T-Rex skull chilling in the background), imploring Johnson to explain.
"That's Stan," The Rock told the brothers. "So, as a matter of fact, Stan is the most complete T-Rex skull ever found by a paleontologist—a young paleontologist—and his name was Stan, so this T-Rex head was named after him. Pretty cool and badass isn't it?"
Well, the choice decor soon went viral, mainly because the Stan skull sold in 2020 for a whopping $31.8 million to an unknown buyer, much to the dismay of paleontologists. The skull has never been seen again, now part of the buyer's private collection. Given The Rock's comments, many assumed that buyer was indeed him.
Well, The Rock took to Instagram on January 18 to clear some things up, explaining that he isn't actually the mystery buyer of the original skull. Johnson's Stan is simply a stellar replica.
"In my home office, this is my replica cast of Stan that I had made and purchased from my friends at The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and Paleontological Excavations," he wrote on Instagram.
He continued, "In science, this T-Rex skull is considered to be the most perfectly preserved skull ever found. Bones of this beautiful beast were perfectly pristine. This is why Stan is so extraordinary and special. In 2020, Stan was auctioned and sold for $31.8 million to an anonymous buyer and never seen again. That buyer was not me."
So, yes, The Rock owns a T-Rex skull. Just not that T-Rex skull.
"My love, respect, fascination, and curiosity for paleontological and archeological science runs deep—and if I was the proud owner of the real Stan, I sure as hell wouldn’t keep him in my office," Johnson wrote. "I’d keep him in a museum, so the world could enjoy, study, and learn from him."
The Rock took time in his post to nerd out, telling his followers that it's imagined that Stan had some "brutal" fights in his lifetime, including one fight that broke his neck. Stan survived the fight, though his vertebrae fused due to the injury, resulting in loss of mobility and serious pain for the rest of his life.
"Stan's a fucking badass. And reminds me of myself," The Rock wrote in his post. "Not because I’m a badass, but because I’m 67 million years old too."
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