The Rock’s Daughter Ava Raine Addresses Backlash Over Charlie Kirk Post

Ava Raine has opened up about the backlash she faced last year after social media posts she shared in the aftermath of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk sparked online criticism.

The controversy began after Ava shared a post from comedian Gianmarco Soresi on her Instagram Story. The message read, “If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind things when you’re alive.” She later reposted the statement on X, adding, “And I’ll stand behind this. Be kind, now more than ever.” While Charlie Kirk was not mentioned by name, the posts came just hours after he was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. The timing led to significant backlash online, including calls from some fans for WWE to release Ava.

Appearing on The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi podcast, the former NXT General Manager discussed the reaction she received following posts she made in September 2025. Ava, whose real name is Simone Johnson and who is the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia, said that while criticism from wrestling fans was something she had grown accustomed to, the response from outside the wrestling world caught her by surprise (via WrestlingNews.Co).

“The thing, I was quite used to getting hated on by wrestling fans, and I was like, ‘All right, whatever. Fine.’ I’m used to that, blah blah, s—-ing on me because of who my dad is,” Ava said. “They’d be calling me every type of slur, but that’s from wrestling fans. However, there were so many angry conservative men that I was like, ‘You don’t even know who I am.’”

Despite the criticism, Ava Raine did not publicly distance herself from the message she shared and maintained her position on the post at the time.