It’s been more than 14 years since President Barack Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. The news, however, didn’t come as much of a surprise to those who followed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on social media, as the WWE legend alluded to the development with a now-infamous post on Twitter.
“Just got word that will shock the world – Land of the free…home of the brave DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” Johnson wrote, prompting many to speculate that al-Qaeda founder had been killed.
Just got word that will shock the world – Land of the free…home of the brave DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 2, 2011
In the years since, Johnson’s role in helping break the news has become a part of the story’s lore. And in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “The People’s Champ” finally revealed how he was tipped off to the killing more than an hour before it was first made public.
“I’ve got a friend of a friend who gave me a call. The call was like, ‘Hey, this thing happened.’ And I said, ‘Okay, wonderful news,'” Johnson recalled. “I was told on the call that the president at that time [Barack Obama] was going to make his speech in 20 minutes or whatever. I said, ‘Okay, great.’ So 20 minutes go by, and at about the 25th minute, I tweet this. Then I get a second call, and the call is, ‘Yeah, the president didn’t go on yet.’ And I went, ‘Oh sh*t.'”
Johnson’s story sounds great in theory, although his 2011 post certainly seemed to imply he was privy to news that no one else was aware of yet. But considering his relationships in Hollywood and elsewhere, it certainly makes sense that he’d have connections to the type of people who would have been aware of such information before it was made available to the general public.
As for the disconnect between The Rock’s version of events and the actual substance of his post, perhaps that’s a result of him telling the story 14 years after it happened. Then again, when it comes to “The Final Boss,” it can often be difficult to tell what’s a work and what’s a shoot.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.