I am on record as saying that people asking celebrities they don’t know to events is not my favorite. There are exceptions, like this very touching story about San Francisco 49er Don Jones taking a young lady from his hometown to prom, but they were family friends as her mother taught Jones in elementary school. Even though I’d like to see this trend fade out, I still watch all the reactions when the celeb responds. Obviously, I am conflicted.
The latest involves resident nice guy Dwayne Johnson. Senior Katie Kelsenberg, a self-proclaimed Rock-ette (no idea what the fandom calls itself, I’m just throwing that out there), posted this video in an attempt to catch Dwayne’s attention and ask him to prom:
@TheRock PROM?! pic.twitter.com/VyHhrpVQYe
— katie k (@katiekelzenberg) April 15, 2018
She posted the video last Sunday and then went about her week as usual… until Friday. On Friday, Katie was sitting in her AP Statistics class (let me add a ‘way to go, Katie’ here), when the Friday announcement began to play. Only this time is wasn’t Principal WhatsHerName on the loud speaker, it was a familiar (hunky) voice with a very special message for Katie:
I love the faces in the video. I’ve watched it three times just to note at which point each realizes what’s happening. So, the Rock can’t make it because he’s filming The Jungle Cruise on May 5th, the night of the prom. I thought he’s be unable to go because his girlfriend was having their daughter any day – makes me wonder if the little pebble is here already? But the message was a really cool gesture. My favorite is when he declares himself a Stillwater High Pony, I hope they send him a letterman’s jacket.
After making the announcement, Dwayne posted his own clip to Instagram to explain to those who’d seen the Tweet from Katie why he’d declined:
This is very sweet and very on brand for The Rock and Katie looked genuinely thrilled. He makes a nice point about how Katie put herself out there and that bravery like that should be rewarded. As he mentioned in both the announcement and this post, to make up not going to prom with his new “best friend Katie,” he is renting out a theater for Katie to take 225 of her friends and family to see Rampage – the popcorn and soda is on him. Can you imagine how many Facebook posts Katie’s gotten about, “Hey, Katie, remember that time I said hey in gym class? You’ve always been the coolest, you know?”
I wonder if his buying out a theater counts in his box office receipts? Recently we discussed Dwayne being Hollywood’s most bankable star. For whatever reason, the guy who argued that, turned around and called Rampage’s opening ‘soft.’ Dude, don’t ever call anything about The Rock soft, he doesn’t care for that kind of talk:
Tom, mi amigo
Our projected domestic opening was always $35m. We exceeded at 35.7m. Projected worldwide opening was $120m. We exceeded big w/ $151m. My personal biggest opening ever in China and 60-70% market share in many territories. No scoreboard pointing yet my friend
😉🙌🏾— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 19, 2018
Photo credit: Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and WENN Photos
This is so nice!! I fantasize about all the nice things I would do for people if I was super successful. I would pay student loans off! I would pay off people’s mortgages!! It would be so wonderful
Yes me too! Scholarships and orphanages would be my thing 🙂
Mrs. WellenMelon Hospitals all over the U.S. and patients don’t pay a dime!
As for The Rock’s reply to his new best friend: well played, sir.
I agree with you that this is such a weird trend and I hope it dies out but yeah, this is one of the best stories about celeb proms that I’ve seen!!
As for Rampage- if that movie is a hit, it would be SQUARELY on the Rock’s shoulders because it looks awful. And nobody I know is excited to see it. I’m shocked they exceeded projections and well…the Rock is so charming and likeable that I hope the movie does well! (Without my money though lol)
This is why I continue to love him.
+1
The Rock rocks! He was so cool and funny and kind and also generous.
This was very sweet of him but he cares waaaay too much what random people think of him on twitter.
He gets butt hurt over the dumbest things ( Baywatch flopping)
Stop responding to trolls. You’re a grown man.
He still gets my side eye for “not voting” in the last election.
I think he’s a closet republican and not Independent like he says.
People are still doing this? I remember when Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake made a movie and were asked, how long ago was that?
Do something else. Its also stupid for the celebs. As if anyone of them wants to go but they cant really say that in public. Its an unfair pressure.
It’s even older than that! I think Tupac went to prom with some girl. And Brandy went to prom with Kobe Bryant (but I guess he was a minor/almost celebrity since there was buzz that he was going to be drafted and Brandy was his age)
He was very kind about it but yes this is a trend that needs to die. By the time you’re a teenager you should understand that you do not KNOW these celebrities. They are not your friends, they don’t love you. The Internet dialed all this parasocial relationships up to 11 and I just don’t think it’s healthy. I guess it’s cute, but I also find it sad.
What a stupid, thoughtless trend. Fans can be the biggest dumb asses.
Duwayne does the ever smiling “Rock” very well. His latest gesture is really all about getting high school kids interested in his lame movie.
I fantasize about winning the lottery all the time. About how I would buy my mother in law who has 13 grand children and did so much for others all her life & for church, orphans etc. a new kitchen, the schools and youth centers that teached me so much new furniture, books, money to organise trips with the kids…I know playgrounds in the city I grew up in where the playgrounds are full of people that are dealing with heroine and leaving injections and broken glass bottles there…and our society worry’s about getting the next Kylie Lip Kit…
Pssst- he’s filming Jungle Cruise, not Junggle Book! Yes, it’s based on the ride…and he sim gonna see it
Oh crap – I can’t believe I wrote that. Clearly the decision to stop at two cups of coffee was the wrong one. Thanks for the catch.
This is a much better outcome than if he had accepted her invitation and she had to break it to her parents that she was going to prom with a 40-something divorced guy who has two kids and a pregnant girlfriend.
As others have said, this trend of forcing prom onto public figures needs to die. It’s manipulative as hell.
I think it’s very strange that these teens are asking grown adults (that are old enough to be their parent) to prom. The Rock handled it well though (all the while plugging his movies LOL).