The Rock Makes a Shocking Claim About the Death of Osama Bin Laden Dating Back to May 2011

The Rock recalls his infamous tweet about Osama Bin Laden’s death that went out before Barack Obama’s official announcement.

The Rock Makes a Shocking Claim About the Death of Osama Bin Laden Dating Back to May 2011

The Rock and Osama Bin Laden (via WWE and The New York Times)

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It is no exaggeration to say The Rock is one of the most powerful figures in WWE today. Beyond being a 10-time world champion, Dwayne Johnson also sits on the TKO board and remains Hollywood’s highest-paid actor. His influence on the business is unmatched. Recently, though, ‘The Great One’ revisited one of the strangest claims tied to his legacy.

Back in May 2011, The Rock tweeted about a major piece of news before the rest of the world heard it from President Barack Obama. His sudden, patriotic message went out minutes before the official announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed. The tweet read as follows. 

Just got word that will shock the world. Land of the free. Home of the brave. Damn proud to be an American.

The Rock via X

And now, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson explained how he learned the news ahead of time.

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.’ I was told on the call that the president at that time 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

The Rock via The Hollywood Reporter

Obama ultimately made the televised announcement later that night, confirming bin Laden’s death and closing a major chapter in post-9/11 history. At the same time, WWE was holding its Extreme Rules event in Tampa, Florida. 

As the show ended, John Cena informed the live crowd of the breaking news, saying bin Laden had been caught and brought to a permanent end, which sparked loud chants as he exited to The Stars and Stripes Forever.

The Rock reflects upon the box office failure of The Smashing Machine

While The Rock was only in WWE from 1996 to 2003 during his initial run, he still became one of the biggest stars the industry has ever seen. He then used his wrestling fame as a springboard into Hollywood, eventually becoming the highest-paid actor in the world.

The Rock in WWE and The Smashing Machine
The Rock in WWE and The Smashing Machine (via WWE and Venice Film Festival)

For years, though, Dwayne Johnson’s movie image was boxed in. He was often seen as the khaki-wearing action hero whose films had massive budgets but didn’t always dive deep into storytelling or emotional range. That perception finally shifted in 2025 with The Smashing Machine.

The A24 biopic tells the raw, chaotic story of former UFC heavyweight tournament winner Mark Kerr, whose legendary career was derailed by painkillers and opioid addiction. In the film, Johnson underwent a striking physical and emotional transformation, becoming almost unrecognizable as Kerr. 

Many critics have called it the best performance of his career. But despite the rave reviews, the movie struggled at the box office. It recorded the lowest opening weekend of Johnson’s career, earning just $19 million on a $50 million budget. Still, Johnson isn’t bothered.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in front of 500 film students at Chapman University, he opened up about why the numbers didn’t matter to him.

Even that Friday night when we opened, I went to sleep peacefully and woke up peacefully because it represented this thing. And even though we didn’t do well [at the box office], or as well as we wanted to, it was okay because it just represented the thing I did for me.

The Rock via The Hollywood Reporter

The film received strong praise at both Venice and Toronto, and critics widely celebrated Johnson’s serious turn. For him, the project was less about profit and more about proving something to himself as an artist.

So even if the film didn’t crush the box office, it clearly pushed Johnson into a new creative chapter. And with upcoming collaborations with directors like Martin Scorsese and Darren Aronofsky, he seems ready to chase more roles that challenge him rather than just ones that guarantee blockbuster success.

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