Action man Dwayne Johnson has taken on the #LemonsForLeukemia viral challenge to encourage more people to sign up as bone marrow donors.
The new initiative, which involves participants taking a bite out of a lemon on social media and challenging another person online, was launched by best friends Dillon Hill, 19, and 20-year-old Chris Betancourt, who was diagnosed with the rare chronic myeloid leukaemia in September (17) and told he had about a year to live.
The aim was to raise awareness about the disease and set a new world record for the most donors added to the U.S. bone marrow registry in a 24-hour period. The feat was achieved last week (ends02Mar18), when almost 4,000 new names were added to the Be The Match Registry.
The #LemonsForLeukemia challenge has continued to circulate online, and former wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne has since tackled the sour fruit all in the name of charity, sharing video footage of his juicy task on Twitter.
“Here we go… This is a lemon, and you know what? It’s for a great cause, #LemonsForLeukemia,” the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star told fans. “Why eat an amazing tasting orange or a grape, when you can eat an awful tasting lemon for a great cause…?”
Johnson, also known as The Rock, was dared to take on the task by U.S. TV presenter Lara Spencer, a co-host on breakfast show Good Morning America, and he had a special shout out for her after completing the dare, quipping, “Thank you Lara, you’re gonna pay dearly for this challenge.”
Dwayne isn’t the only star to promote #LemonsForLeukemia – actor Danny DeVito also recently completed the challenge, and called on his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-stars to follow his lead.
