When muscleman Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appeared noticeably smaller recently, he explained it away as the result of digestive issues. For anyone who has lifted weights their whole life, that story doesn't quite ring true. Muscles don't just evaporate overnight, unless, of course, they were inflated by chemical assistance. And yet, nobody is calling The Rock out the way they did with Liver King, who was exposed as a steroid user.
Why the double standard?
1.The Likeability Factor
The Rock is, simply put, one of the most likeable celebrities alive. He's funny, humble in interviews, generous in his public persona, and careful not to take himself too seriously. Even if people suspect he's been on steroids for years, they shrug. It doesn't feel like a betrayal, it feels like part of the show.
Liver King, on the other hand, built his whole brand around extreme claims: eat raw liver, sleep on wooden planks, reject modern comfort. Then he swore, hand on ancestral testicles, that it was all natural. When the emails leaked showing he was spending over $10,000 a month on steroids, the internet turned on him instantly. Why? Because people already found him obnoxious, and the lie gave them an excuse.
2.The Sales Pitch
The Rock sells movies and energy drinks. Liver King sold himself as proof of his "ancestral lifestyle." One sells entertainment; the other sold a scam. The outrage was never really about the steroids; it was about the dishonesty tied to the product.
3.Public Forgiveness is About Character, Not Truth
In the end, the lesson is simple: public forgiveness has little to do with the facts. People forgive celebrities they like, and they destroy those they don't. If Liver King had The Rock's charisma, he might still be chomping raw livers on TikTok without much trouble.
So, when The Rock loses muscle overnight and calls it a "digestive issue," nobody digs too deeply. He's earned the benefit of the doubt through decades of goodwill. Liver King never had that goodwill, he had arrogance, and the internet loves nothing more than to humble arrogance.
The takeaway: In fitness, as in politics, entertainment and life, people don't judge the story. They judge the storyteller.