DWAYNE The Rock Johnson looked like he was having a whale of a time at the Georgia Aquarium over the weekend – but not all of his fans were as amused.
Some animal rights campaigners are even accusing the wrestler-turned-actor of supporting animal captivity.
The Moana star posted three snaps and a video on Sunday of himself, his partner and his daughter enjoying the aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia.
In one of the photos, The Rock appears to be shaking ‘hands’ with a beluga whale.
In another, the family appear to be watching the whale sharks swim in their tank.
In the video, he says: “I am one with creatures and animals and basically anything with a heartbeat”.
Not everyone agrees though.
One Instagrammer ‘warriorforanimals’ wrote: “The sea lion just like the belgula whale also doesn’t want to perform tricks or do anything unnatural for you or anybody.”
She added: “It’s 2018 animals deserve rights not be forced to live in swimming pools to do tricks.”
Dwayne The Rock Johnson received backlash for his photos
Another account, ‘vtips’, commented: “Very disappointing to see you promoting the capturing of free animals, the abuse of animals for entertainment and the violence that these animals endure.
“I thought you were above this.”
Phil Demers, a celebrity marine mammal trainer, tweeted: “And with one staged fist-bump photo op, @TheRock just undid YEARS of crucial captive whale advocacy”.
He added: “That’s no fist-bump…that’s a death punch.”
Some fans of the actor thought the response from anti-captivity activists was unnecessary.
@superuknown111 tweeted: “The Rock takes his family to an aquarium and people have to find something to be offended about by it. How RIDICULOUS is that?”
Another Twitter user @MatsonBlake wrote: “It’s amazing what people will get worked up over.
“People are protesting The Rock for taking his family to the Georgia Aquarium.”
The Rock divided opinion online
On Instagram, ‘willie_b_thedog’ wrote: “No animals were harmed when you took your family there.
“Your patronage supports research and development of ways to help marine life.”
Many of the critical responses to the posts by the Hollywood star used the hashtags #EmptyTheTanks and #TheCove.
#EmptyTheTanks is a charity campaign aiming “to end cetacean captivity and promote ocean conservation worldwide”.
The Cove is an Oscar award-winning film about ocean conservation in Japan.
Since posting the photos, the posts have collectively received over 10 million likes on Instagram.
