The Rock has addressed the very strange debate over Maui’s missing nipples in live-action Moana

It turns out one of the biggest questions surrounding Disney’s live-action Moana remake isn’t about the story, the casting or the CGI. Instead, people have become weirdly fixated on whether Maui has nipples.

Social media has quickly filled with jokes and genuine questions about Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s character, with some people convinced Disney has somehow erased his nipples altogether.

Now, Johnson has finally responded to the debate, and he seems just as confused as everyone else.

Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, he admitted he couldn’t understand why this had become such a talking point.

“I want to know who exactly of our people, when they see the trailer, are like, ‘Where’s Maui’s nipples?’ I’d like to see this person or this group of people.”

Thankfully, he also offered an explanation.

@pedestriantv “Take a look.” – @The Rock 💀💀 #dwaynejohnson #moana #disney ♬ original sound – PEDESTRIAN.TV

“We know what it’s like to have markings all over our chests. And sometimes, in Maui’s case, his markings are around his areolas,” he said.

“Sometimes they just get lost in the visuals because there’s a lot of things moving and happening, and his pecs are big. So they’re there.

“So tell the freaks who wanted to know where Maui’s nipples were to pause the trailer, pause it, zoom in, and take a look.”

One viral post on X claimed: “In the live action Moana they cgi edit Dwane’s nipples out of every frame because no mammals are allowed to have nipples in a live action Disney film.”

The theory is funny, but it doesn’t really hold up. Disney has included male nipples in plenty of films over the years, although it’s never been particularly consistent.

Characters like Kocoum in Pocahontas, Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a number of older male characters have visible nipples, while characters such as Aladdin and Flynn Rider mysteriously don’t.

The live-action film also isn’t using Johnson’s actual chest anyway. To become Maui, he wore a custom-made 40-pound prosthetic bodysuit complete with the demigod’s iconic tattoos, alongside a curly brown wig. The transformation reportedly took around two and a half hours every day, meaning the chest seen on screen isn’t actually The Rock’s real body.

So according to Dwayne Johnson himself, Maui does have nipples. They’re just apparently hiding behind a lot of tattoos, visual effects and some very large pecs.

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Featured image credit: Disney