She’s the nepo baby wrestler trying to follow in her A-list father’s footsteps.
But vile social media posts, penned by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s daughter in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, have drawn outrage across the WWE, and could threaten her burgeoning career.
24-year-old Ava Raine, real name Simone Alexandra Garcia Johnson, sparked backlash after she shared a post on Instagram addressing Kirk’s horrifying assassination.
The conservative activist was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, allegedly by Tyler Robinson.
But instead of offering sympathy after the heinous slaughter, Raine promptly reposted a message which which read: ‘If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind things when you’re alive.’
She later doubled down, taking to X to write: ‘And I’ll stand behind this. Be kind, now more than ever.’
The posts did not go down well with WWE fans, with Raine being widely panned as vicious.
But really, such backlash is nothing new for the wrestler. She has a long history of controversial public outbursts – including declaring her support for the Black Lives Matter movement, gun reform and Palestine.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s daughter Simone Johnson, left, is facing backlash over her post following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk
Kirk was shot and killed in Utah on Wednesday, leaving behind his wife, Erika, and two children
Raine is the eldest daughter of Johnson, 53, and the actor’s only child with his ex-wife Dany Garcia.
She made her WWE debut under the stage name ‘Ava Raine’ in 2022, following in the footsteps of not only her dad but also her late grandfather, Rocky Johnson, and her great-grandfather, ‘High Chief’ Peter Maivia.
Following her brief stint in the ring, Raine became the general manager of WWE’s NXT division – making her the youngest general manager in WWE history.
With 523,000 followers on Instagram and 131,500 followers on X, Raine typically uses her massive platform to promote female wrestlers in the WWE.
But in recent years, Raine hasn’t shied away from sharing her political views online.
Most notably, she has made a handful of posts expressing her support for Palestine following the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Simone, who goes by her WWE stage name ‘Ava Raine,’ has a longstanding history of sharing her political views online
Pictured in 2016: Raine, 24, made her WWE debut in 2022. In addition to her dad, her late grandfather Rocky Johnson and her great-grandfather, ‘High Chief’ Peter Maivia, are also wrestling royalty
In May 2024, Raine shared an image of a poster on her Instagram Story that called for an ‘end [to] Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.’
According to Ringside News, sources said her post sparked considerable outrage among those in the WWE who felt her Instagram Story was ‘ill-advised,’ and cited that WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, is led by Jewish CEO Ari Emanuel.
Emanuel himself blasted Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu while delivering a speech at a gala later that month, as he called upon Netanyahu to step down.
Less than two weeks after the October 7 attacks, Raine reposted a donation link on X that aimed to provide food, water and medical aid to displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
The following month, Raine shared a single emoji of the Palestinian flag in a post on X to once again signal her support for Gazans.
Apart from speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza, she has also openly advocated for the LGBTQ+ community.
Earlier this year, Raine reposted a meme from X account @lesbiasnism to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31.
‘I wish all my trans followers a very happy and safe Trans Day of Visibility,’ the post read, alongside an image of cartoon Bugs Bunny in a tuxedo.
Raine also weighed in on the debate surrounding Algerian professional boxer Imane Khelif, who sparked a gender row following her gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the time, fellow boxer Logan Paul claimed in a since-deleted X post the Algerian boxer was transgender and assigned male at birth.
Paul later admitted he was ‘guilty of spreading misinformation’ after receiving backlash for his post.
Meanwhile, Raine subtly shaded Paul in her own post, writing on X at the time: ‘google is free & so is thinking before you speak! remember to be kind to everyone’
She has also spoken out against the views of conservative commentator Andrew Tate.
Tate – a former kickboxer who is currently facing rape and human trafficking charges in the UK – has stoked controversy online for being a self-described ‘misogynist’ and for his comments urging men to ‘reject feminism’ and dominate women.
Following Tate’s arrest in Romania in October 2022 on allegations of rape and human trafficking, which he denies, Raine took to X where she wrote: ‘i’m really concerned about how many of you are defending andrew tate’
That same year, Raine once again advocated for women’s rights amid the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the US.
In May 2022, a leaked draft opinion obtained by Politico signaled that the Supreme Court was set to overturn the landmark case that granted the right to an abortion for nearly 50 years.
On X, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz claimed some women who spoke out against the Supreme Court decision were ‘over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no Bumble matches.’
Raine doubled-down on her Instagram Story post criticizing Kirk following his death, as she wrote on X: ‘and i’ll stand behind this. be kind, now more than ever’
Raine is The Rock’s only child with ex-wife Dany Garcia. He also shares daughters Jasmine Johnson, nine, and Tiana Johnson, six, with wife Lauren Hashian
Raine quote tweeted Gaetz’s message, as she replied in her own post: ‘What in the actual hell does this have to do with reproductive rights.’
The wrestler went on to attack ‘pro life legislators’ following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022.
She urged her followers to vote them ‘out of office before more kids die,’ adding: ‘this isn’t normal or acceptable.’
‘I have so much I want to say but I’m too infuriated at the moment and everyone else should be too,’ she said in a follow-up post on X.
While the WWE has yet to respond to Raine’s post about Kirk’s death, several critics have already faced repercussions for making allegedly insensitive comments following his murder.
Opinion columnist Karen Attiah was fired from The Washington Post last week over a series of posts she wrote after Kirk’s assassination, while analyst Matthew Dowd was also axed by MSNBC over his ‘unacceptable and insensitive’ on-air comments moments after Kirk was killed on a college campus.
Despite their firings, it’s unlikely Raine will face consequences from the WWE over her post due to her status as the company’s rising star and her family’s four-generation legacy in the ring.
After all, her own dad made his political views known when he endorsed former president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential election.
If there’s anything to be gleaned from Raine’s social media posts and political activism, it’s that her similarities to her famous father surely extend far beyond their shared love for the ring.
