Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson sends message to girl with Down's syndrome

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Dwayne JohnsonImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Dwayne Johnson sent a message to Rosie telling her to "stay strong"

The father of a girl with Down's syndrome said it was "really cool" for actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to send her a message on Twitter.

The Hollywood star, who voiced Maui in the film Moana, told Rosie to "stay strong" after her father wrote that the film was one of her favourites.

Jason Kneen, from near Ludgershall, in Wiltshire, originally posted a photograph of his daughter smiling.

He said it was "insane" that the tweets had gone viral.

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After posting the "really lovely" picture of his daughter smiling, Mr Kneen then wrote more about his daughter, including the fact that she was obsessed with the film Moana.

Dwayne Johnson spotted the messages and tweeted "Look at this lovely cookie. Stay strong Rosie! Uncle Maui loves ya. What can I saaaaayy except you're welcome."

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Mr Kneen said it was "crazy" and "really cool" that the messages had since been retweeted more than 8,000 times and had been "liked" 87,000 times.

He said he had received "nice messages" from people thanking him for sharing it, and it had provided comfort for people who had recently found out they were expecting a baby with Down's syndrome.

"We were told by doctors and nurses on the day of her birth... how her life would go," he said.

"It was like her whole life had been mapped out in front of you. It was distressing, shocking and upsetting.

"[But] you can't predict how your child's life is going to be. You can't tell anyone what's going to happen.

"We just got on with it. She's amazing.

"We've been through some difficulties like anybody, but she makes up for it every day when she smiles at you like that and wants to watch Moana all the time."