All about the good vibes! Nikki Bella spoke out about her controversial support of a photography book about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Total Bellas star, 36, opened up about the backlash she received on the Wednesday, October 7, episode of “The Bellas Podcast,” after posting a photo of The Rock: Through the Lens: His Life, His Movies, His World by Hiram Garcia on Thursday, October 1.
“We know as authors … how much work you put into making your first book; to any book you have,” Bella said, pointing out she was supporting her friend, photographer and producer Garcia. “And the minute you get your first book published and it hit shelves, how proud you are. You’re just so excited. It’s a huge accomplishment. So when I got his in the mail, I just remember that feeling when we dropped Incomparable.”
After sharing “a love post” for her friend’s work on the book, the new mom went back to tending to her and Artem Chigvintsev’s 2-month-old son, Matteo.
“Then I looked at social media and all of a sudden I was like, ‘What the f–k?’ I’m like, how did this turn into a political debate?” she recalled.
The former wrestler received negative comments, including “BOYCOTT ALL BELLA PRODUCTS!!!!” and “Oh noo! TRUMP 2020,” from supporters of President Donald Trump, who were angry over The Rock’s endorsement of the former reality TV star’s opponent, Senator Joe Biden, for president in September.
“I’m not even thinking — of course, the book is about The Rock [or] photography about The Rock — [and] he just endorsed Joe Biden,” she explained. “First of all, that never crossed my mind. Not once.”
The reality TV star added: “It sucks that you can support someone — support a friend and their amazing accomplishment — and how it turns into negativity and you get this backlash and it turns into something so political.”
Despite the backlash, Bella opted to keep the photo up and instead promote positivity among her followers.
“Nikki Bella’s account, this is all about positivity, love and light,” she said in a message to her followers. “I embrace everyone’s beliefs because I was raised to believe — and I learned on my own — that everyone is gonna have different opinions and beliefs.”
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant continued: “That’s what makes the world go round. We’re all never going to think the same.”
The Total Divas alum’s twin sister, Brie Bella, called for people to show “compassion, unity and love” to everyone, no matter what their beliefs, before commending the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor, 48, on talking about his political choices.
“I loved how The Rock was like, ‘Hey, I never talk politics, but I feel I have to,’” Brie, 36, explained. “Good for him for feeling something and voicing it. Like, who cares?”
The mother of two continued: “So many of us publicly have been proclaiming, ‘Use your voice. Be real. Be you. Be raw.’ And now we’re getting close to the elections, and now it’s like, don’t say how you feel, you might piss someone off.”
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