The Rock stood by his claims in a November interview with The Los Angeles Times -- telling the outlet "I was very clear with what I said" -- though according to Diesel, he and Johnson couldn't be closer.
“I don’t think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way. I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don’t think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne," Diesel said in a new interview with USA Today.
The father of three added that although creative differences may arise when having "two alphas" on set, his goal is to protect everyone.
"I protect everybody including Dwayne. I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know. And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it. Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me," Diesel added.