Who is Ava Raine and what did she say? Real name and more on The Rock’s daughter amid backlash over Charlie Kirk post

Ava Raine is currently facing online backlash after seemingly sharing a post about conservative advocate and TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during a college event in Utah on September 10. Ava, whose real name is Simone Alexandra Garcia Johnson, is a professional wrestler and influencer and the daughter of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

On her Instagram Story, Raine reposted a tweet by comedian Gianmarco Soresi that read,

“If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind things when you’re alive.”

While she did not name Charlie Kirk directly, many online speculated it was meant for him. Ava Raine, 24, later added, standing by her previous statement and seemingly responding to the backlash:

“And I’ll stand behind this. Be kind, now more than ever.”

Her post has since gone viral and sparked outrage from Kirk’s followers and other conservatives. The Rock has continued to maintain his silence on the matter.

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All you need to know about Ava Raine

Ava Raine was born on August 14, 2001, in Davie, Florida. Her father is American actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson, and her mother is Cuban-American businesswoman, IFBB pro bodybuilder, and producer Dany Garcia.

She attended NSU University School, from where she graduated with a diploma in the summer of 2019. Later, Raine was trained in pro wrestling by her dad and also went to the WWE Performance Center in Florida from 2020 to 2022.

She debuted for the WWE in 2023 under the ring name Ava and became the first fourth-generation wrestler to sign with the organization. Elsewhere, she served as a Golden Globe Ambassador for the 75th Golden Globe Awards in 2018.

Ava Raine is part of the Anoa’i family and Samoan heritage and is the youngest on-screen general manager for the NXT brand. She has previously been part of Joe Gacy’s four-member faction, Schism, between 2022 and 2023.

This year in March, Dwayne Johnson’s eldest daughter became the head of the Evolve brand under the parenthood of WWE. Last year, she also created the NXT Women's North American Championship, the first-ever secondary women's title in WWE.

In 2020, The Rock spoke to the Daily Mail about his daughter wanting to follow in his footsteps.

“First of all, what an honor that my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps, but more importantly, [...]she actually wants to create and blaze her own path, which is so important,” he said back then.

During a 2023 episode of The Pivot Podcast, the Fast & Furious star shared:

“I had [Ava] when I was young, in my 20s. So, when I had [Ava], I was flying by the seat of my pants. I was wrestling full-time, I started transitioning into movies full-time, and I had so much sh*t going on.

Dwayne Johnson added that he and Ava “grew up together, but we had a relationship where I was always gone, and we tried to keep it together.” He mentioned Raine becoming a pro wrestler “actually brought us closer together.”

Ava Raine is also the granddaughter of Rocky Johnson and the great-granddaughter of Peter Maiva, both legends in the wrestling world.

Last year, Dany Garcia gave a shoutout to her daughter during Hispanic Heritage Month and National Daughter Day in September.

"MY DAUGHTER, like many Cuban women who came before her, embodies evolving strength. She has learned to show up powerfully and has cultivated her confidence, allowing her to carve her own path, and most impressively, take up space and speak her mind - Attributes that have served her well as the youngest General Manager in @WWENXT history," Garcia wrote on social media.

Ava Raine’s mother shared how “endlessly proud” she was of her daughter and other Gen Z Latinos who are “fearlessly shaping our futures and advocating for others in the process.”

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Simone Johnson wasn’t the only one to face backlash over their comments on Charlie Kirk. Charlie Rock, the football communications coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, was fired, as was Phoenix Sun beat writer for the ALLCITY Network, Gerald Bourguet. Freestyle BMX cyclist Chelsea Wolfe also faced online criticism.

Charlie Kirk, 31, was attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday titled “The American Comeback Tour” in Orem, Utah. While speaking on gun violence on the stage, twenty minutes after the event began, he was shot in the neck by a sniper’s bullet and killed.

The suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody on Friday, as the probe is ongoing. Charlie Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, who paid tribute to her husband over the weekend, and their two children.