Dutch Mantell weighed in on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s decision to step away from public political discourse.
Speaking on Story Time with Dutch Mantell, Mantell reacted to Johnson saying he regretted endorsing Joe Biden in 2020 because of the division it created among fans.
I don’t think any public figure, actor or whatever, you know, they take on a political bent at their own, you know, it could cause them a lot of problems.
So the best thing to do is what Rock did, I think, after the Biden approval that he did, is don’t do anything.
Mantell said Johnson has still drawn criticism by choosing not to speak publicly about politics.
But now by not doing anything, he’s brought on more complaints from people.
So that goes back to the thing that you can’t win for losing.
Mantell said politics and religion are two subjects that can quickly turn people against public figures.
People, they will turn against you on two things, politics and religion.
I heard that when I was a kid.
Mantell said he believes some people wanted Johnson to be more publicly political.
I think they wanted The Rock to come out more politically than what he did and he wouldn’t do it.
So they got pissed off at him. So they said, “Well, we’ll make it hard for him anyway.”
Mantell added that he does not think the criticism will derail Johnson’s career.
I think The Rock is at a point in his career now, I think that, you know, it’s got to take more than that to derail him right now.
Mantell also said people should make up their own minds rather than relying on celebrities or athletes to shape their political views.
I think the best thing is to make up your own mind and if somebody agrees with you, fine. If they don’t, then fine.
But if you’re going to withhold, “Oh, I’m not supporting him because he’s,” you know, I think that’s a horrible life to live.
Mantell said he does not believe someone’s political view should determine whether people support them.
If you got to keep changing, “Oh, he didn’t agree with me. I don’t like him,” that’s bull crap.
Mantell also reacted to the famous Michael Jordan line about keeping politics separate from business, saying Johnson appears to be taking a similar approach.
That’s exactly what he’s doing.
To the people who are politically oriented and they like people because they agree with them politically, they may agree with them politically on one little piece of a bill and the rest of them they could be totally at odds.
But no, “Well, I’ll let this dictate whether I like that guy or not.” That’s a horrible way to live your life.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
