Dwayne Johnson celebrates surpassing 200m Instagram followers days after Biden-Harris endorsement
Actor has more than 300m followers across all platforms
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dwayne Johnson has expressed his gratitude to his fans after surpassing 200m followers on Instagram, making him the most followed man in America.
The Jumanji actor reached the impressive milestone days after he announced on the platform that he was endorsing Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, prompting him to celebrate by reminding his followers to “always speak your truth”.
Johnson, who is also known by his nickname The Rock, shared his thanks with an Instagram video where he can be seen dressed in a white shirt and black bow tie and opening a bottle of his tequila brand Teremana.
“The life lesson I want to share with you guys is to always speak your truth,” the former WWE star said. “Always speak your truth and do your best to speak your truth with compassion, with a little bit of poise, with a little bit of dignity, with respect and with empathy.
He encouraged his fans to do so “even when speaking your truth means you’re going to dive into conversations that might make people a little uncomfortable”.
The actor then took the opportunity to thank his followers for “giving me the space to speak my truth,” before explaining that he’d learned from his team he had surged past 200m followers on Instagram.
That “makes me – incredibly, and gratefully, the number one followed man in America,” he said.
According to analytics site Trackalytics, Johnson officially reached the milestone on 7 October.
As of Friday, he has 200,246, 274 Instagram followers.
“The #1 followed man in America. The #1 followed American man in the world. And most importantly, the #1 daddy at home,” the 48-year-old captioned the video, referencing his daughters Simone, 19, Jasmine, four, and Tiana, two.
On Twitter, Johnson also shared a message of gratitude, where he said he is “so humbled” by the outpouring of support.
“I’m so humbled by this massive tidal wave of support as we surge past 200m,” he wrote. “#1 most followed man in America. #1 most followed American man in the world. Love you guys and I always got your back.”
The actor’s achievement comes after he announced his endorsement for Biden and Kamala Harris on 27 September with a video of him speaking with the Democratic candidates.
“As a political independent and centrist, I’ve voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I’m endorsing @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris,” he said at the time. “Progress takes courage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT. We must ALL VOTE.”
While Johnson is now the most followed man on Instagram in America, he is not the most followed person on the platform. That honour belongs to soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has more than 239m followers.
Johnson is also slightly behind Ariana Grande, who boasts more than 203m followers on Instagram.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments