Vin Diesel Shows Support for the Rock After Tyrese's Instagram Rant

The release date for the new Fast and the Furious film may have been pushed back but unlike his costar Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel isn’t blaming Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the delay.

“Brotherhood… and all it’s complexities,” he wrote. “This scene was filmed in Puerto Rico, I can remember it like it was yesterday. Such a beautiful island, the people were so warm and welcoming. I turned 43 that summer… and my son Vincent was born.
A woman named Jan Kelly responded to a question I had asked on Facebook, ‘who they would like to see me work with?’ She said would love to see me work with Dwayne… I listened to her request and he became Hobbs.”

“I know there has been a lot of speculation as to why the Fast 9 release date was pushed,” the 50-year-old actor — who also serves as a producer for the movie series — wrote on Friday alongside an Instagram of him and Johnson. “But it would be unfair to say it is anyone’s fault.”

“As we plot the course to expand the Fast & Furious universe, one must be mindful to take stock of the roads we took to get here. The pillars of authenticity, family and most importantly, our loyal fan’s perspective has been instrumental in procuring success,” he continued.

“However, like any vehicle that has run around the globe 8 times, the franchise is in need of maintenance. My good friend and the godfather of Universal, Ron Meyer has granted me the time to do just that. We have some very exciting news to share soon… stay tuned. Yours truly, Dom #FamilyAlways “ he added, referencing the ever-important theme of family to the series.

On Thursday, Gibson shared an Instagram post accusing the wrestler-turned-actor of holding up the next installment of the hugely successful action franchise until 2020. The movie previously had an April 2019 release date but got pushed back as it was revealed that Johnson would star in a spin-off based on his character from Fast 8.

“Congratulations to @TheRock and your brother in law aka 7 bucks producing partner @hhgarcia41 for making the fast and the furious franchise about YOU,” Gibson wrote, also taking a dig at Johnson’s last movie Baywatch, which underperformed this summer at the U.S. box office.

Gibson had expressed his displeasure with the actor in the past as rumors swirled that the next installment was being bumped in favor of a standalone movie for Johnson’s character, commenting on a photo from Johnson’s Instagram in an attempt to convince the actor not to “fly solo.”

“If you move forward with that #Hobbs Movie you will have purposely ignored the heart to heart moment we had in my sprinter,” he wrote in September. “I don’t wanna hear from you until you remember what we talked about. I’m on your timeline cause you’re not responding to my text messages – #FastFamily is just that a family…….. We don’t fly solo.”

After Gibson’s inital rant, Diesel had shared a photo of Gibson, himself and the late Paul Walker at a premiere, captioning in “brotherhood.” Many people — including Gibson — took it as a subtle sign that Diesel was agreeing with his sentiments.

“Never confuse determination with desperation,” Gibson wrote when he re-Intagrammed Diesel’s photo. “What’s understood don’t have to be explained…… 44 million just got the memo…. Although it appears to be…. I’ve never been in this alone…….. #PerceptionVsReality #FastFamily like I said we don’t fly solo. President Obama’s integrity teachings is of a man who makes everyone feel like they MATTER…..”

The drama between actors in the franchise first erupted on the set of Fast 8 when Johnson called out some of his male costars as “chicken s—” and “candy-ass.” Gibson shared his thoughts on Instagram in defense of franchise star and producer Diesel at the time – who was reportedly the target of his costar’s rant.