Ava, the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia, has opened up about the backlash she faced over social media posts shared in the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death in 2025.
Speaking on The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi podcast, the former NXT General Manager reflected on the controversy and the reaction that followed.
The backlash stemmed from a post Ava shared to her Instagram Story in September 2025. The message, originally written by comedian Gianmarco Soresi, stated: “If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind things when you’re alive.”
Ava later reposted the message on X and added: “and I’ll stand behind this. be kind, now more than ever.”
Although neither post mentioned Kirk by name, they were shared just hours after he was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. The timing led many online users to connect the posts to Kirk’s death, resulting in significant criticism and calls from some fans for WWE to take action against Ava.
Looking back on the situation, Ava said she was not surprised by criticism from wrestling fans, having dealt with that throughout her career. “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.”
However, she admitted that the reaction from outside the wrestling world caught her off guard. “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 backlash, Ava did not publicly walk back her comments. WWE also did not issue any public statement regarding the controversy at the time.
Ava, whose real name is Simone Johnson, has been part of WWE for several years and previously served as the on-screen General Manager of NXT. As the daughter of one of the most recognizable figures in both wrestling and entertainment, she has often found herself under heightened public scrutiny throughout her career.
Her latest comments provide additional insight into how she viewed the controversy and the unexpected audience that became involved in the backlash surrounding her social media activity.
