Dwayne Johnson tells emotional Mother's Day story on Instagram
'Happy Mother's Day to all the deserving amazing mamas out there,' writes The Rock
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shared a touching personal story on Mother's Day, as he and his mother Ata reflected on his success, and the life it affords them now, after years of struggling to make ends meet.
Johnson posted this photo of his mother sitting on an airplane about to eat breakfast on Sunday, to his 13.5 million Instagram followers and 8.6 million Twitter followers.
"I'm sittin' across from my mom when out of the blue she looks around the plane, then looks at me and says "Son, I can't believe the life I have.. grandma and grandpa would be so proud," Johnson wrote in the picture's caption.
"I asked her, 'Are you happy ma?' Just then the flight attendant placed my mom's breakfast down on the table and my mom said to me, 'Am I happy? I used to worry about how I was going to buy groceries for us and now I just had my breakfast placed down in front of me.' She bursts into tears and says 'Yes, son I couldn't be happier.'
"This is the woman who when I was 14 years old we were evicted out of our apartment in Hawaii 'cause we couldn't afford the $180 per week rent. At this moment I'm shaking my head and smiling quietly (as my mom blows her nose) 'cause she just told me she's happy."
Fans gave an outpouring of emotion and thanks to Johnson for sharing the story.
<a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock">@TheRock</a> beautiful story. She's lucky to have you as a son as you are to have her as a mother.
—@mizsscenafolyfe<a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock">@TheRock</a> thank you for sharing. Just gave me chills and tears. I love how grateful you and your mom are. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/grateful?src=hash">#grateful</a>
—@MagenFit23Johnson's posted touching stories about his family in the past. In 2014, he expressed his gratitude when his mother and cousin survived a serious car crash. "Hug your own family tighter today and be grateful you can tell them you love them," he wrote at the time.
Johnson gained fame in the 1990s in the then-World Wrestling Federation as The Rock, before transitioning to become one of the highest paid action heroes in Hollywood. He's recently starred in Hercules and Furious 7, and is slated to play villain Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam film based on the DC Comics superhero.
Johnson has been open about his family's influence on his drive to succeed. In an interview with CBC Arts reporter Eli Glasner, the 42-year-old revealed he was motivated to make it in Hollywood by the desire to buy his family a house and car. (He bought his mom a car in 2012; he posted her reaction at the time on Facebook.)
