The Rock confesses to gross on-set allegation about him

The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, is not shying away from the controversies that have bubbled up while making his latest movie.

Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas action feature Red One has had a troubled journey to the finish line, but its lead star is not shying away from the controversies that have bubbled up from its delayed release.

While promoting the upcoming film in a new interview with GQ, Johnson directly addressed a number of allegations raised in a bombshell report from The Wrap earlier this year that claimed his chronic lateness severely delayed production and caused the film’s budget to balloon to over $US250 million.

While he called some of the claims from the report “ridiculous,” he did admit that he does sometimes “pee in a bottle,” as the report claimed.

“Yeah. That happens,” he said.

He had the same response when asked if he was as late as the report suggested. “Yeah, that happens too,” Johnson replied. “But not that amount, by the way. That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.”

Dwayne Johnson at the Red One premiere. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty

The report claimed Johnson was sometimes seven to eight hours late a day. Sources who worked with Johnson on other projects, such as HBO’s Ballers, also said Johnson was known for “keeping 100+ crew members waiting for no reason.” Previous reports also noted that his co-stars Vin Diesel and Ryan Reynolds took issue with his chronic lateness.

Johnson called the controversy “bulls**t,” but said he’s an open book when it comes to these types of claims: “I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.’”

Chris Evans also defended his Red One co-star. While admitting Johnson was known for working out before coming to set, he told GQ that the directors and producers were fully aware of when Johnson was expected to be on set.

“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,” he said.

Johnson said reports of his bad behaviour are greatly exaggerated – but he has been known to pee in a bottle. Picture: Jerod Harris/Getty

He also told GQ that Johnson measured up considerably better compared to other celebs he’s worked with in the past. “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,” he said.

Evans then shared a story from set. In a testament to Johnson’s character, Evans revealed he allegedly donated thousands of dollars to a weekly raffle that benefited a randomly chosen crew member. “I think on one Friday, Dwayne gave away something like close to a hundred thousand dollars,” he said.

Red One director Josh Kasdan also came to Johnson’s defence, saying the star “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 said. “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.”

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as The Rock confesses to gross on-set allegation about him