The Rock Says Hulk Hogan Is ‘Paying The Price’ For His Racist Rant

VIA: The Rock was asked to address the recent controversy surrounding Hulk Hogan during the Ballers panel at TCA on Thursday, something that seemed to leave the former WWE superstar a little hurt according to Deadline. Johnson said he was “disappointed” with what Hogan was reportedly heard saying on the leaked portions of tape and talked a bit about the personal effect Hogan had on his life:

“I’ve known Terry for years. My dad help trained him in Florida in the 1970s, and even my uncle. I come from a long line of professional wrestlers. I didn’t know him (Terry) to be a racist. It’s one of those things where it’s not definite in terms of what he said. We’ve all talked trash. He said what he said and he’s paying the price.”

It’s hard to gauge true feelings from a quick blurb at a television event, but you know there’s some history between those two in the ring and backstage. Those are the people that are going to know the reality of the situation more than anybody else, much like with all the other criticism’s we’ve heard over the years about Hogan. Does The Rock have more to share? We’ll just have to wait until the next stop.

Johnson also talked a bit about his upcoming documentary project, Rock in a Hard Place. It’s a passion project for the wrestler turned actor, reflecting on the troubles he had at a young age in Hawaii, the events that changed the path of his life, and how he used that in his career and for the project that focuses on the stories from a boot camp in Dade County, Florida that is also a correctional facility:

It’s a project that Johnson considers “near and dear to my heart.” The action star mentioned it was “a blessing in disguise” when his family was evicted and forced to move out of the state of Hawaii. Johnson was heading done the wrong path and “I’m lucky I didn’t wind up in prison,” recalled Johnson.

There’s no release for the project yet, but you can most likely expect some hints at it for next year on HBO.