Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is taking flak and losing fans for his support of the U.S. military.
Fort Bliss’ 1st Armored Division recently named an M1 Abrams tank after Johnson, who took to social media to express his gratitude – but then he received criticism for it.
“I’m sending a salute of respect & gratitude to the Blackhawk Squadron1st Armored Division for the honor of naming their tank (the most advanced in the world) Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Heavy duty, [expletive], sexy … and built to take care of business—but most importantly, thank you all for your service. Grateful to the bone,” Johnson captioned along with a photo of the tank, which he posted Friday on Instagram.
Despite more than two million likes on the post, the critics sounded off.
“That’s not something to be very proud of because it’ll be your name on that tank that’ll kill innocent people,” one user commented.
“Well I really like you as a person and everything but what is a tank meant for? If it is to take the lives of human beings and others then it is not admirable… I hope it won’t be used… ” another wrote.
“Not sure having a destructive weapon named after you is such a great honor,” yet another user claimed.
Numerous “fans” who voiced criticism said they would be unfollowing Johnson over the post, despite the fact that he had no involvement in the tank’s naming.
Many of his followers, however, voiced their approval of the act, and Johnson’s vocal gratitude.
Johnson’s post came days after the 1st Armored Division introduced the tank in tweet.
It has been Army tradition to name M1 Abrams battle tanks, with the name printed on the barrel of the tank’s 120mm gun.
“‘If you smell what America’s Tank Division is cooking!’ Shoutout to the #IronSoldiers assigned to the @Blackhawk_SQDN for naming one of their tanks in homage to the @TheRock. Hopefully the ‘People’s Champ’ will see it and give you guys a shoutout and a retweet!” the tweet said.
“If you smell what America’s Tank Division is cooking!”
Shoutout to the #IronSoldiers assigned to the @Blackhawk_SQDN for naming one of their tanks in homage to the @TheRock.
Hopefully the “People’s Champ” will see it and give you guys a shoutout and a retweet!#TuesdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/xMm2aKBArS— 1st Armored Division (@1stArmoredDiv) March 12, 2019
Johnson has voiced his support for the military in the past and has made numerous appearances on military bases or at events honoring the military.
“I come from a family of proud military soldiers – from the Vietnam war to Navy SEALS,” Johnson posted on Facebook in 2016.
