Everything to Know About Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel's Feud Over the Years

The feud between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel continues after the Rock shot down Diesel's request to return to the Fast franchise

The feud between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel has been as turbulent as any action sequence in the Fast franchise.

In a CNN interview published on Wednesday, Johnson addressed a November Instagram post by Diesel, who also serves as a producer on the franchise, in which Diesel, 54, publicly asked Johnson to return to the hit movie series.

Johnson called the plea "an example" of Diesel's "manipulation."

"I was very surprised by Vin's recent post," said Johnson, 49. "This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly —and privately— that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. I privately spoke with my partners at Universal as well, all of whom were very supportive as they understand the problem."

Johnson continued, "I didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker's death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Vin Diesel in 2011. Buda Mendes/LatinContent via Getty

"It's unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters. Regardless, I'm confident in the Fast universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience, and I truly wish my former costars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter," Johnson added.

In the Instagram post that the Jungle Cruise star referred to, Diesel wrote in part, "My little brother Dwayne... the time has come. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don't send well wishes... but the time has come."

A representative for Diesel has not commented to PEOPLE.

The feud between the two stars stems back to 2016 as they were filming the eighth installment of the long-running franchise, 2017's The Fate of the Furious.

"Tension has been building up for months," a source close to the production told PEOPLE at the time.

"Vin has been having problems with The Rock because The Rock keeps showing up late for production," the insider said. "Sometimes he doesn't show up at all and he's delaying the production." (Other sources recounted similar behavior from Diesel to The Hollywood Reporter and Page Six.)

At the time, Johnson posted a now-deleted Instagram post in which he praised his female costars and crew on the film but called out his unnamed male costars.

RELATED VIDEO: Dwayne Johnson Recalls Set Crew Thanking Him After Calling Out Co-star Vin Diesel's Behavior

"There's no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one," he wrote at the time. "My female costars are always amazing and I love'em. My male costars, however, are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't."

He added, "The ones that don't are too chicken s--- to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I'm not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you're right."

In an April 2017 interview with USA Today, Diesel cleared the air — and appeared to squash the rumored beef with his costar.

"I don't think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way," Diesel said. "I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don't think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he's Uncle Dwayne."

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Diesel added that protecting the franchise extends to his relationship with Johnson.

"I protect the franchise. I protect everybody including Dwayne. I protected Dwayne more than he'll ever know. And it doesn't matter. He doesn't have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it," said Diesel. "Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that's me."

In an interview with Men's Health in July 2021, Diesel claimed that he used "tough love" on set when it came to Johnson portraying his Fast & Furious character, federal agent Luke Hobbs.

"I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances in anything I'm producing," Diesel told the magazine.

Speaking with Vanity Fair for the magazine's November cover, Johnson touched on Diesel's "tough love" comments, telling the outlet, "One part of me feels like there's no way I would dignify any of that bull---- with an answer."

"I've been around the block a lot of times. Unlike [Diesel], I did not come from the world of theater," he added. "And, you know, I came up differently and was raised differently."

Johnson continued, "And I came from a completely different culture and environment. And I go into every project giving it my all. And if I feel that there's some things that need to be squared away and handled and taken care of, then I do it. And it's just that simple. So when I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed. I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I'm sure Fellini is laughing too."

The Red Notice star said that following his 2016 Instagram post he and Diesel had a meeting in his trailer on the set of The Fate of the Furious.

"I wouldn't call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity," he told Vanity Fair. "He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum. And agreed to leave it there."

Johnson, who added that he and Diesel are "philosophically two different people," also shot down some of his costar's claims about their relationship, including his 2017 comment to USA Today, in which he told the outlet he "protected Dwayne more than he'll ever know" and calling himself Johnson's "big brother in the film world."

Clapping back, Johnson said, "I have one big brother and it's my half brother. And that's it."