Two weeks ago, actor Paul Walker Hauser was doing an interview with CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell to promote his role as Embarrassment in Inside Out 2. Since Paul has been acting steadily for almost two decades, O’Connell compared Paul’s career path to Vin Diesel’s. Like Paul, Vin has also been around for a long time and has done voice acting, saying “I am Groot” over the course of six Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Paul’s response got a lot of attention because he shut that comparison down real quick. Rather than pull an “I don’t know her,” Paul was like, “Don’t compare me to that rude, late man.” He also mentioned that while he didn’t actually know Vin and had never worked with him, he was just going off what he’d heard from people who had worked with Vin who said that he’s an a-hole who needs to get a watch.
At the time, I wondered if this was going to be the moment that the floodgates would open and Vin’s bad behavior would finally get more attention. His former assistant sued him for sexual battery late last year, but it was reported right before Christmas and basically went away after that. All it takes is one brave person to turn on the faucet before others feel safe sharing, too. Ellen DeGeneres knows how it goes. Sadly, it looks like we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer for Vin’s reckoning. Last weekend, Paul posted a long apology to Instagram, saying he was sorry for passing judgment on Vin instead of kissing his ring.
“A few weeks back, I made a random comment about Vin Diesel. It started somewhat humorous, but unraveled into me dogging him out over behavior I had heard about on multiple occasions from multiple sources,” the actor explained in a lengthy Instagram post.
Hauser’s initial comments came during a press junket for his latest film Inside Out 2. While speaking with CinemaBlend, the interviewer compared Hauser’s voice performance to Diesel’s work in Guardians of the Galaxy.
“Please don’t say that. I like to think I’m on time and approachable,” Hauser said with a laugh. “Sorry, I love people, but when I hear stories about Hollywood actors who get paid really well and mistreat people, I out them constantly. And it’s a blast.”
The interview was filmed and later shared on social media, where it gained massive attention.
In Hauser’s Instagram apology, he claimed he was running on “1 hour of sleep” before flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles “to do a full day of press” for the animated film.
“I was exhausted and, in my fatigued state, I shot my mouth off and made a careless, needlessly mean-spirited, comment. That comment was recorded and then went viral,” he wrote.
After apologizing, Hauser made it clear that he and Diesel had never actually met one another.
“I no longer feel that way and am genuinely sorry for shooting my mouth off and not showing love to Vin, who I do not know and have never met,” Hauser said. He added that it’s “not fair” to pass judgment on others, whether the rumors about Diesel are true or not.
Hauser’s words were the caption to a photo, which showed Bible verse 1 Thessalonians 4:11.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,” the verse read.
“As a self-professed Christian, I need to do a better job of loving people and not trying to “right a wrong”, or allow my ego to posture itself with some sort of verbal flex. It just isn’t additive to our culture, and it can hurt other people,” Hauser continued in the caption.
He then apologized to the Chronicles of Riddick star one last time.
“@vindiesel – I apologize. Thank you for entertaining so many people and making them happy. I’m trying to do the same,” Hauser wrote.
Boooooo. I bet Vin had a little temper tantrum after he got wind of what Paul said. He probably stayed an extra two hours in his trailer and then yelled at a bunch of crew members to feel better. While I’m feeling petty and don’t think he should have apologized, I understand why he did. It’s basic career politics, and Paul’s a well-respected actor who wants to keep working. He’s also by all accounts a decent human being. He probably was a little embarrassed to have had his comments blow up.
All that said, this is an amazing line: It started somewhat humorous, but unraveled into me dogging him out over behavior I had heard about on multiple occasions from multiple sources.” Okay, Paul, I’m picking up what you’re putting down here, you sly bitch. We all know that even if you apologized for repeating something about someone that you’ve never met, it doesn’t change the fact that people in Hollywood are still gossiping about how Vin Diesel is not nice to work with.
Photos credit: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon, Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
Eventually Vin will have his comeuppance, his reputation on set is too terrible
Yeah, it totally stood out that he apologized while doubling down on the fact that multiple people told him
Similar stories about Vin Diesel so it’s really an open secret in Hollywood. 😁. He knows who has more power here and he needs to play nice to keep working while making it clear that he WAS told this, probably to avoid a defamation claim. I wonder if VIN’s lawyers sent a threatening letter.
That said, it was kind of a weird Move to be so adamant about it when he never had any interaction with Vin himself. Good for him for standing up but it’s a little risky to put yourself out there when people who had those interactions haven’t felt the need (or deemed it to risky) to go public with it.
There’s a tidbit I learned about a celebrity (from someone I absolutely believe) about how that celebrity has repeatedly treated a particular group of service workers. Any time I see him, that is always top of mind now. I could see letting what I’ve heard slip if I was exhausted and it was my job to say interesting/funny/provacative things for hours on end to drum up interest in a project.
Isn’t it in his F&F contract that he can’t lose a fight? Nothing says thick skin like not wanting to play a character who is occasionally bested in a fictional story.