'The Rock': Dwayne Johnson says he isn't the anonymous buyer of T-Rex skull

By Wayne Sterling, CNN

Updated 1203 GMT (2003 HKT) January 19, 2022

Dwayne Johnson arrives at the People's Choice Awards on Tuesday, December 7.

(CNN)Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson isn't the anonymous T-Rex skull buyer.

In October 2020, a 39-foot T-Rex fossil — nicknamed «Stan» in acknowledgement of its discoverer Stan Sacrison who excavated the remains in 1992 — was sold to an anonymous buyer at a Christie's live auction for a $31,847,500 fee, according to the National Geographic.On Monday, Johnson was spotted with a giant T-Rex skull in his home office during his virtual appearance on «Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli.»Co-host Eli Manning pointed out the dinosaur.«I got a T-Rex skull, yes,» Johnson laughed. «That's 'Stan.' So as a matter of fact 'Stan' is the most complete T-Rex skull ever found by a paleontologist — a young paleontologist — and his name was Stan, so this T-Rex head was named after him. Pretty cool and badass isn't it?»Read MoreIn a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, Johnson said he isn't the buyer and that the skull seen on the ManningCast is a replica.«After my LIVE interview on last night's #ManningCast on @NFL's Monday Night Football, there's been tons of worldwide speculation in the world of science ~ that I am the „mystery buyer“ of the original T-REX skull, known as STAN,» he wrote.The T-Rex skeleton known as 'Stan' is displayed in a gallery at Christie's auction house in New York City on September 17, 2020.«I am not the mystery buyer. In my home office, this is my REPLICA CAST of STAN that I had made and purchased from my friends at The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and Paleontological Excavations.»The original STAN was found in 1987, by amateur paleontologist, Stan Sacrison