How Dwayne Johnson Knew bin Laden Died Before Obama's Major Announcement
- - How Dwayne Johnson Knew bin Laden Died Before Obama's Major Announcement
Will SayreNovember 8, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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Celebrities have the inside scoop before the public more often than not.
That includes Dwayne Johnson, who knew that Osama bin Laden — the terrorist behind the 9/11 attacks — died before then-President Barack Obama had even made his official announcement in May 2011.
In a new interview, "The Rock," 53, noted that “a friend of a friend” had called him at the time to confirm the news — though Johnson didn't name any names.
"The call was like, 'Hey, this thing happened.' And I said, ‘OK, wonderful news,'" Johnson said during the latest episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. "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, 'OK, great.'"
As those in the biz who monitored the 2011 announcement might recall, Johnson jumped the gun and posted on Twitter celebrating bin Laden’s death before Obama had even made the official announcement.
"Just got word that will shock the world - Land of the free...home of the brave DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!" Johnson's post on May 1, 2011 read.
Just got word that will shock the world - Land of the free...home of the brave DAMN PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 2, 2011
Johnson continued in podcast, "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 s--t.”
On the matter of politics, Johnson did not entertainment the journalist's question the podcast as to whether he would consider a presidential run in the future — a question fans might seriously be asking themselves since his character on the show Young Rock runs for office in 2032.
Elsewhere in the Nov. 7 podcast episode, The Smashing Machine star revealed how heartbreak and depression after his 2008 divorce changed the course of his Hollywood career. He says he was going through “another bout of depression” at the time, adding that he was led to seek lighter, family-friendly roles.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
