CNN
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Dwayne Johnson is acknowledging the backlash he received after he and Oprah Winfrey asked the public to donate to the Maui wildfire recovery fund last month.
“When we first launched the fund, there was some backlash,” Johnson said in a video posted to his Instagram page on Sunday, adding: “I understand and totally understand, and I could have been better. And next time I will be better.”
Johnson went on to say that he understands that “money doesn’t fall from the sky or grow on trees, and there are a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck. And I understand it and I know what it is.”
“The last thing you want to hear when you’re living paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money, especially when the person asking you for money already has a lot of money,” he said.
In August, Johnson and Winfrey first announced the creation of the Maui People’s Fund in a video posted to their Instagram pages, saying they had each contributed $5 million to kick off the campaign.
“I understand, I understand. I’ve never started a fund before, but I’m learning and learning quickly,” Johnson said, adding that he appreciates the transparency his social media platforms provide about getting feedback from his followers.
In announcing the fund, Winfrey and Johnson explained that those who lost their primary homes in the Lahaina and Kula fires were eligible to receive $1,200 per month from their fund.
In his Sunday video, Johnson said “thousands and thousands of survivors” have begun receiving the first round of funding.
CNN previously reported that more than 100 people were killed in fast-moving wildfires that engulfed the island of Maui. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than 100 years, according to the National Fire Protection Association.