Dwayne Johnson Calls Jelly Roll a ‘Very Spec...

Dwayne Johnson Calls Jelly Roll a ‘Very Special Friend’ in Moving Tribute and Reveals Their Unexpected Connection

The musician and actor met up after connecting a decade earlier through Jelly Roll’s song “Only”

Dwayne Johnson; Jelly Roll.Credit : Jeff Spicer/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty

Dwayne Johnson and Jelly Roll are finally hugging it out.

The Rock and the musician collabroated on an Instagram post on Monday, June 30 featuring them meeting and embracing in person. They had been in touch for years and cheered each other on from afar.

Johnson, 53, wrote an emotional tribute to Jelly, 40, elaborating on their years-long bond through Jelly’s song “Only” and their shared Nashville ties.

“A brotherly hug almost 10 years in the making,” Johnson began the lengthy caption.

“Several years ago (roughly 2017) I was going through a very hard thing at the time, I was struggling. My mental wellness turned into my mental hellness. Many of you know the drill, you put on ‘the face,’ show up to work, smile and get through it.”

The Rock, who was filming a movie at the time, said that though it wasn’t the “healthiest thing to do,” he was used to it.

“Then a song came on through my headphones one morning on a random shuffle playlist. ‘Only’ from Jelly Roll,” he continued. “The lyrics rocked me. Hard core.”

“What if the darkness inside of me has finally taken my soul?/What if the angels in heaven were sent to take me home?/Would they fight through the demons that I have in my life?/Lord, I’m believing eventually see the light,” Jelly croons in the 2017 song.

Jelly Roll in Lexington in June 2025.Erika Goldring/WireImage

“The words moved me so much that I reached out to Jelly. I said you don’t know me and I don’t know you, but this song of yours is helping me through some stuff I’m dealing with. I just called to say thank you brother. Our bond was born.”

Johnson had a gift for Jelly when they finally met — an old postcard of the Alamo Plaza motel in South Nashville. He called it “insignificant to the world” but knew it would have meaning to Jelly, who is from that part of Nashville.

“This is real old-school Nashville history,” Jelly said in the Instagram video, showing off the postcard signed by the actor.

“When I was 15yrs I was forced (family was evicted) to leave Hawaii and make it to Nashville to live with my dad. That didn’t work out so I wound up living with a stranger in this little spot on Murfreesboro Road that has since been torn down and no longer there,” Johnson wrote, explaining his connection.

“[Wrestling manager] Downtown Bruno was that stranger’s name and to this day, he’s one of my best and most special friends. Just like Jelly.  A very special friend.”

“Every once in a while we all get sliced up by life,” the Moana star said, “but it’s amazing to see what kind of blessings and people that God and the universe will put in our lives to help us heal through our pain.”

Dwayne Johnson in Beverly Hills in January 2025.Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Johnson also gave Craig Morgan, whom Jelly mentioned during their conversation that The Rock was listening to on his drive over, a shout-out. “How’s THAT for the universe conspiring for us!! F#%king crazy 🤯,” he wrote, emphasizing the power of music.

“Love you brother and cheers to all our plaques coming down🥃,” The Rock concluded the emotional post.

Jelly is currently wrapping up the Big Ass Stadium Tour with Post Malone before embarking on solo dates later this summer. Meanwhile, Johnson’s next big movie, The Smashing Machine, comes out in October.