Dwayne Johnson addresses backlash over viral video of baby being crowd-surfed to him

‘People do cry and they hand me things - I was NOT surprised to be handed this beautiful little baby,’ actor says

A video showing a baby being crowd-surfed to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson during the Black Adam press tour has sparked mixed reactions, with many questioning the safety of the stunt.

The moment occurred while Johnson was on stage to promote Black Adam during a promotional event in Mexico City on 3 October. During the event, a fan in the crowd decided to pass their infant daughter along in the hopes that she would reach Johnson on stage.

The attempt was successful, with the video showing the moment that an individual in the crowd standing near the stage handed Johnson the baby, which he then cradled in his arms. As he held the baby, Johnson could be seen smiling and appearing to mouth “wow”.

However, on Twitter, where the video has been viewed 10.4 million times, people were concerned by the stunt, with one person questioning: “What is going on here?”

“Letting your newborn be passed around to random people in a crowd during a pandemic. What could go wrong,” another person sarcastically said, while someone else wrote: “Personally I’d never let that many strangers touch my child.”

There were also fans who expressed concern over the way the baby was held as it was crowd-surfed to the stage, with many criticising the alleged lack of support for the infant’s neck.

Others compared the viral moment to a scene from the 2017 thriller Mother! “Y’all remember that scene in the horror movie Mother!?” one person asked, while another said: “Ummm giving Mother! vibes…”

On Thursday, the Red Notice star, 50, shared the video on his own Instagram, where he provided additional details about the controversial moment.

“Our BLACK ADAM tour has been electric, fun and emotional. People do cry and they hand me things - I was NOT surprised to be handed this beautiful little baby,” the actor said. “Her father caught my attention because he had tears in his eyes when he held her up high and gestured for me to hold her.”

However, according to the Baywatch star, when the baby’s father initially held her up in the crowd, Johnson had thought that it was a toy doll. “I honestly thought he was holding a toy doll he wanted me to have as a gift,” he continued, before adding: “This beautiful, serene, present and trusting angel is Luciana. One day, I bet she’ll inspire all those around her.”

Johnson then reflected on what the moment may have meant to the child’s father, with the actor noting that this made it special for him as well.

“And whatever this moment meant for her emotional father - means it meant something special for me too. Love you back MEXICO and the mana is strong,” he wrote.

Johnson, who has three daughters of his own, concluded the caption: “Girl dads ROCK.”

In the comments under the video, Johnson’s fans were divided, with some praising the clip, while others remained concerned.

“One of the greatest videos of all time,” one person wrote, while another said: “Poor baby being passed around like a toy.”

“I am a HUGE fan. But as a dad I would never pass my newborn through the hands of strangers. Like I cannot even fathom doing such a thing. Or even having my baby in that environment,” someone else wrote.

The actor’s easy acceptance of the baby during the Black Adam press tour came as he revealed in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning this weekend that he would not consider running for President of the United States because he would rather spend the time with his family.

According to Johnson, who shares daughter Simone Johnson, 21, with ex Dany Garcia and daughters Jasmine Johnson, six, and Tiana Johnson, four, with wife Lauren Hashian, while he loves “our country and everyone in it,” he also loves “being a daddy”.

“Especially during this time, this critical time in my daughters’ lives,” he said. “Because I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I was absent for a lot of years for my first daughter’s growing up, [at] this critical age at this critical time in her life. And that’s what the presidency will do.”

“Sure, CEO sounds great, but the number one thing I want to be is daddy. That’s it,” he continued.

The Independent has contacted a representative for Johnson for comment.