The Shady Side Of Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel likes to present himself as a down-to-earth family man, a tough guy with a heart of gold, a lovable goofball and beefcake at the same time. As one of the faces of a few franchises, including Fast & Furious, xXx, and Guardians Of The Galaxy, you're going to see a lot of Diesel — and if you look closely enough, you may even see a side of him that he doesn't want you to know about. Here, take a glimpse at the shady side of Vin Diesel ... and oh, how shady it is.
Members of his own team once dumped him over his poor work ethic
Vin Diesel was allegedly so lazy during his 2009 promotion for the very first Fast & Furious (2009) that his own publicity team dumped him. A source told Page Six (via The Superficial), "No one could get a hold of him [for a press junket]. He didn't pick up his phone and it wasn't until a Universal executive called that he finally picked up and used the lame excuse, 'I'm sick.'" The source added that Diesel finally arrived nearly four hours late, adding, "[He] didn't look sick. But he did do a couple hours of press." Diesel's publicist at 42 West confirmed to Page Six that the firm dropped him as a client after the incident.
He and Paul Walker may not have actually been pals
Since the untimely death of Paul Walker in a car crash in 2013, Diesel has been making his grief tremendously public and referring to the late actor as his "brother" and even named his own daughter Pauline in Walker's honor.
Some insiders say that Diesel's outspoken dedication to Walker would come as a shock to the late actor, because they didn't get along behind the scenes. A source told The National Enquirer, "Paul and Vin really came to dislike each other. Paul said Vin was always trying to outdo him on the set, stealing the limelight, upstaging him and fawning all over producers to make himself look good and Paul look bad. Paul also thought Vin was loud, brash and aggressive, while Vin thought Paul was a Hollywood wimp. That couldn't have been further from the truth, but Vin thought he could walk all over Paul when it came to negotiations, and that infuriated Paul."
Walker himself told Wenn (via Contact Music) just days before he died, "Vin and I are so east coast-meets-west coast, and we have different approaches to life ... I don't know if we necessarily found a stride together because there are certain days I still want to crack him in the head! But he looks at me and there are days he wants to crack me in the head too."
People close to Walker allegedly don't like him
An insider told The National Enquirer, "Paul was close to several people on the set, but they were cameramen, stuntmen and other production people Paul genuinely liked." Still, a source said Diesel was, in fact, "shattered over Paul's death," but not because he necessarily missed the blue-eyed star.
"He's broken down in tears several times and said he wishes Paul would just walk in the door, tell him this was all a bad dream and forgive him," the source added. "Vin has told friends he hates himself for feuding with Paul and feels terribly guilty about how he treated Paul while he was alive. He's determined to make amends and he's doing everything he can to help Paul's family and to honor his legacy, but Vin's hypocrisy is making Paul's true friends gag, because they know how nasty he was to Paul when Paul was alive."
He's been accused of cashing in on Walker's memory
An insider told The National Enquirer before its debut, "Fast & Furious 7 (2015) should be shelved as a memorial to Paul, but with mega-millions at stake, producers aren't about to kiss that big money goodbye. Script writers are scrambling to find a way to write him out of the series in a respectful manner."
The source added, "There has even been talk about having [Walker's brother] Cody replace Paul in the series in an ongoing role, playing Brian's younger brother in an eighth film ... A lot of industry people and family members oppose Cody taking his brother's place. It is kind of creepy, but Vin is all for it. He sees Cody's role as a way to honor Paul's memory, and justify Vin continuing to cash in with the Fast & Furious franchise."
He has a rep for being difficult to work with
While filming Fast & Furious 7 (2015), Diesel was said to be a nightmare on set, leading to the cast and crew having "low morale," insiders told The Hollywood Reporter. "Vin spent a whole day in his trailer one day," a source said. "The next day, they waited four hours for him. He called a meeting [May 28] of studio execs to his trailer for two-and-a-half hours to say, 'What the f**k am I doing here?'"
What's more, a source told LaineyGossip that Diesel abuses his producer credits on films to accommodate his leisurely attitude to work. "Diesel was a producer on [xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2017)] as well, and he repeatedly held up production due to his partying (and insisting on being helicoptered into remote locations after partying all night, while the rest of the cast and crew had to trek in by foot and wait for hours for him) ... His head has been superimposed on his stunt double for the majority of the movie, as his physique was not good enough."
Insiders also told the site that Diesel often wouldn't show up to shoot stunts and was late to set most of the time — and that his PR team goes out of their way to make him look good on social media and in public to compensate for his poor behavior during production.
He started beef with The Rock ...
Diesel's alleged lack of professionalism reportedly led to a feud with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on the set of The Fate Of The Furious (2017). In an Instagram post, Johnson fumed, "My female co-stars are always amazing ... My male co-stars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals ... The ones that don't are too chicken s**t to do anything about it anyway. Candy a**es."
Internet detectives soon narrowed down Johnson's target to Diesel based on his reputation for being late and unprepared for shoots. Insiders told TMZ that the crew adored Johnson, who was fed up with Diesel's poor work ethic for a while, alleging that Diesel would simply refuse to leave his trailer and held up production for everyone — sometimes for up to three hours. Diesel also allegedly criticized the rest of the cast's acting on set and acted arrogant to everyone. An insider also told Page Six, "[Diesel] was constantly late ... He acted like a diva and has held up productions before, so it's not surprising that he's the one The Rock is calling out." Another source said, "Vin has a reputation for being difficult — he shows up late, keeps people waiting, holds up production and is disrespectful to people on the set. Dwayne lost his patience with him."
... and it's still going on
TMZ reported that Johnson and Diesel met up before filming ended on The Fate Of The Furious (2017) to clear the air, but that their issues were never resolved, and that tensions were so high on set that filming was difficult.
Johnson tried to downplay feud talk with a diplomatic post, writing, "You guys reading this know how much I believe in the idea of team effort. That means respecting every person, their time and their value when they step onto my set or partner with our production company. And like with any team, that's a family, there's gonna be conflict. Family is gonna have differences of opinion and fundamental core beliefs. To me, conflict can be a good thing, when it's followed by great resolution. I was raised on healthy conflict and welcome it. And like any family, we get better from it."
When filming wrapped, Diesel responded with a cryptic video of his own with his infant daughter Pauline, telling his followers, "After being on set since literally Christmas, to finally, finally, finally come home, and to learn that your little angel learned a new word, I'm going to have to share it with you. It's more important than anything. Her new word kind of describes my spirit and my soul, and most people who stay positive. The new word is 'happy.' When I heard her say 'happy,' I just lit up in ways I can't even describe. So give me a second and I will tell you everything. Everything."
So far, he hasn't said anything, and the two still allegedly don't get along: The Hollywood Reporter claimed that they're deliberately being kept separate on the press tour for Fate Of The Furious (2017).
Is he a cheater?
A source told Life & Style that despite his family man image, Diesel is a player behind the scenes and cheated on his longtime partner and mother of his children, Paloma Jimenez, in 2015. "Vin has a double life," the source said. "About a year ago, he met this girl at a party in NYC. They hit it off, one thing led to another and before you knew it, they were making out ... That little fling turned into something more, which lasted for a couple of months. Vin and the woman had a whirlwind romance, based on sex. Vin's secret was safe (until now) because the woman was also in a long-term relationship."
He was a huge creep to a female interviewer
Diesel couldn't seem to control himself around another woman: A visibly uncomfortable Brazilian interviewer, YouTube star Carol Moreira.
While Moreira tried to ask him normal questions, Diesel interrupted her constantly to talk to his team and gush about her appearance. "God she's so beautiful ... Am I right or wrong? Look at her. How am I supposed to do this interview? Look at this woman. She's so beautiful. Talk to me, baby. Tell me your story. Let's get out of here. Let's go have lunch ... Guys, really? Look how beautiful she is. You guys think this is a joke. How am I supposed to sit over here when I'm looking at such beauty? She's so beautiful. I'm in love. I'm in love with the interviewer!"
Moreira didn't appreciate his creepy come-ons, but tried to keep it professional. "I was not sure what to do," she said in the video's introduction. "I just laughed because it was a very delicate situation ... I did not like it."