When Jelly Roll and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson embraced in a big bear hug backstage at “American Idol” in May 2025, it was much more than a scene of two celebrities greeting each other. Incredibly, the meaningful moment marked the first time in the men’s nearly 10 years of friendship that they’d met in person.

Johnson, 53, shared a lengthy tribute to Jelly Roll, 40, in an Instagram post on June 30, 2025, which included footage of their emotional meeting on the “American Idol” soundstage on May 12. He revealed the two had been corresponding for years, helping each other through some dark times in their lives. But the timing had never worked out for them to meet up — until that fateful night at “American Idol.”

Here’s Why Jelly Roll & The Rock Finally Met Up at ‘American Idol’

Jelly Roll was on set at “American Idol” on May 12 because he was the show’s first-ever artist-in-residence, a mentorship role he served in throughout season 23, guiding and encouraging the contestants.

Johnson, meanwhile, was on set at “American Idol” that night for two reasons. First, his daughter performed in the Polynesian children’s choir that backed up 2023 “American Idol” winner Iam Tongi, who sang his song from the new live-action “Lilo & Stitch” movie.

Tongi was asked to cover “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride,” the classic tune from the original 2002 movie, and a new generation of students from Kamehameha School’s Children’s Chorus appear on the song. Johnson posted on Instagram on May 12 about what a proud “girl dad” he was as he watched the choir back up Tongi.

Johnson also promoted his upcoming animated Disney film, “Moana 2,” while in the audience at “American Idol,” in a brief segment with Ryan Seacrest. But it was the long-awaited meetup with Jelly Roll that clearly meant the most to the actor.

In his July 1 post, Johnson explained that he had first reached out to Jelly Roll before he was an international sensation, writing, “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. Perhaps not the healthiest thing to do, but it’s what I was used to doing at the time.”

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

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Has Encouraged Jelly Roll Through His Health Journey

The June 30 post included a video about Jelly Roll and The Rock’s bond. After Jelly Roll emerged from his trailer, the two embraced for a long time, telling each other how much they loved each other.

“Jelly Roll and I have been buddies for almost 10 years — texting, showing love, support, always there for each other, whatever you need, I got you,” Johnson said. “We’d never met. So yesterday at ‘American Idol’ was the first time we ever met and it was very special.”

Among the things they’ve bonded over is growing up in Nashville without stable families, as well as Jelly Roll’s recent health journey. When the two say each other, he told Johnson that he had lost 200 pounds and was prepared to lose another 100.

In November, Johnson posted on Instagram Jelly Roll’s health journey. It included a clip of Johnson on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” reading lyrics from “Only” and why Jelly Roll’s song meant so much to him, and well as clips of Jelly Roll’s progress losing weight.

He wrote, “Always believed in you brother☝🏾 your music & friendship helped me thru a very hard time in my life when I was struggling to find a way. Keep kicking ass, shaking cities and moving crowds ~ with gratitude and a smile