Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Addresses Claims About Being Late, Peeing in Bottles on Set

The Red One star called the controversy "bulls--t," before his costar, Chris Evans, spoke out in defense of his character and shared his experience working with Johnson, including claiming the actor once contributed "close to a hundred thousand dollars" in an on-set raffle.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is speaking out about the controversy surrounding his alleged behavior on the set of the holiday action-comedy, Red One.

In an interview with GQ for its Men of the Year issue, the actor addressed claims that he was repeatedly late to set, allegedly costing production millions, and spoke out about the allegations that he would urinate in water bottles instead of going to the restroom in order to save time.

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In April 2024, TheWrap published an article claiming Johnson's alleged tardiness on the set of Red One added $50 million to its budget, with the film reportedly ultimately costing $250. The article claimed Johnson was sometimes up to eight hours late to set, and also peed in water bottles, which crew members allegedly had to dispose of.

When asked about the piece, Johnson, 52, brought up the claim that "I pee in a bottle" himself, adding, "Yeah. That happens."

As for the allegations of him being regularly late to set, he said, "Yeah, that happens too. But not that amount, by the way. That was a bananas amount. That's crazy. Ridiculous."

Johnson went on to call the controversy "bulls--t," later adding that he's not afraid to take accountability for his actions.

"I've said a thousand times: 'Hey, I'm here. Come and ask me. And I'll tell you the truth,'" he told GQ.

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Meanwhile, Red One director Jake Kasdan and Johnson's costar, Chris Evans, both came to his defense.

"[He's] never missed a day of work ever. He has a lot going on. He can be late sometimes, but such is Hollywood -- that's the case with everybody," Kasdan told GQ. "Honestly, I've made three big movies with him. I've never seen him be anything but great to every single person on the set."

Evans said TheWrap's claims about Johnson did not match up with his experience working with him.

"In terms of the guy that I saw, compared to some of the things I've seen on other movies with other actors who are not only not conscious of other people’s time and efforts, but they're unpredictable? I found Dwayne to be -- we all know exactly what he’s going to do when he’s going to do it," the actor said, adding that Johnson would work out every morning before arriving on set, claiming everyone was aware of it.

"But this is something that the producers, the director, and it's all his team, so they all know this," Evans added. "So it's all basic. It’s not like he's late unexpectedly, and I wouldn't even call it late. He comes in slightly later on certain mornings, but it's part of the plan. It’s worked into the schedules and everyone knows it, so he shows up when he's scheduled to show up."

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Evans, 43, also shared a story about Johnson, seemingly as an example of his true character. The Avengers star recalled how his costar allegedly often contributed to a raffle on set, called Five-Dollar Fridays, in which the crew purchases raffle tickets, before a name is ultimately chosen out of the bunch.

"I mean Dwayne did it all the time," Evans told GQ, "but there was one day, and I'm really not exaggerating about this. I forget what the number was. The pot was up to four or five grand or something, and before they pulled the name out, Dwayne said, 'What's the pot at right now?' And someone said, 'I don't know, four grand.' And he said, 'Let's call it 20.' And they pulled out a name and whoever won was losing it."

"Dwayne [then] said, 'You know what? Should we do it again? How about 30 this time?' Everyone goes nuts. And then he says, 'You know what? How about one more?’ And it was 50. I think on one Friday, Dwayne gave away something like close to a hundred thousand dollars."

Read more from Johnson's GQ profile here. Red One is in theaters Friday.