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It was a very Merry Christmas for Dwayne Johnson‘s mother, Ata Johnson.
The Rock bought her a new house! Johnson posted on his Instagram this weekend a sweet video showing his mother reading aloud the card he gave her that reveals her new gift, and her emotional reaction.
“All our lives growing up we lived in little apartments all across the country,” Johnson wrote. “Lived like gypsies on the road from one state to another. The first home my parents ever lived in was the one I bought for them in 1999. They divorced about 5yrs later and as with life, stuff happens and things got a little complicated. Since then I always made sure my mom and dad have everything they’ll ever need – houses, cars etc.”
“But the house this time is a special one and the timing is very meaningful,” he said. “I told her to treat this card like it’s ‘Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket’ because she gets to choose any home she wants – anywhere she wants. I always say, if you got a good mama, then you gotta pretty good shot at becoming a decent human being. And somehow, somewhere along the line I became one lucky SOB to be able to make stuff like this happen. Merry Christmas Ma and WOOOHOOO enjoy your new home. Dwanta.”
Johnson joins a growing list of celebs who have used their wealth to give back to the people who raised them and bought them a home.
Instagram; Getty Images
Dwayne Johnson
The Rock bought his mother Ata Johnson a new house for Christmas 2018.
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Cardi b
In November 2018, the “Money” rapper posted on Instagram a video of a house she purchased for her mother. Cardi said, “Last year I was so thirsty to buy my mama a home, and I could only afford a house that cost $600,000. You know, we live in New York, so a price that looked like that look like s–t…I waited, I waited, I waited, I waited til I could afford a dream home, and I copped it.”
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Pete Davidson
The comedian and actor bought his mother Amy Waters Davidson a new house on Staten Island, New York for $1.29 million in 2016, two years after he joined Saturday Night Live, property records show.
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Tyrese Gibson
In 2017, the Fast & Furious star surprised his mother with a house as she celebrated 11 years of sobriety.
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Nicki Minaj
Carol Maraj is a lucky mom! On her 2010 track “I’m the Best,” Nicki raps the lyrics, “I remember when I couldn’t buy my mother a couch / Now I’m sittin’ at the closin’ bought my mother a house.”
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Alex Rodriguez
The former New York Yankees star told Extra in September 2018, “Almost 25 years ago, when I signed my first contract out of high school in Miami, the first thing I did with my signing bonus… I bought my mother [Lourdes Rodriguez] a house. And I bought myself a Jeep Cherokee.”
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Too $hort
On his track “Playstyle,” he raps the lyric, “I bought my mother a house in Atlanta.”
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LL Cool J
The actor and rapper was quoted as telling Metro, “When I started out I bought my mother [Ondrea Smith] a house and had 10 or 12 cars – BMWs, Benzes, Porsches,” adding, “The luxury I have in my life now is I can buy all the books I want and I can always have brand new trainers on…My thing isn’t money…I’m not trying to show people how rich I am. But I do like diamonds and nice things.”
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In 2012, Johnson surprised his mother with a new car for Christmas and shared the emotional moment on Facebook.
“At 14 I saw my mom crying about our only car being repossessed,” he wrote. “This felt good. Merry Christmas mom.”