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Drew Barrymore Opens Up About Her Personal Connection to Hawaii

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Drew Barrymore Opens Up About Her Personal Connection to Hawaii


Drew Barrymore has a special place in her heart for Hawaii.


On Wednesday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared as a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, where the two discussed a variety of topics, including what The Aloha State means to them. 


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“I have a personal connection with Hawaii,” she told the former WWE wrestler, 51, whose Samoan mother was born there. 


The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean





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“It’s the first place that I ever traveled to. And it’s the first place that my mother ever took me to on vacation. And she took me with her father and I wrote a chapter about it in my book called the ‘Royal Hawaiian,’ ” Barrymore, 49, said.


Johnson asked if that’s where the Charlie’s Angels alum had stayed, as her book is also the name of an iconic hotel located on Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach. 


She confirmed that it was indeed where her family stayed during their visit. 

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“And then recently I was on a surfboard with my daughters and I looked over and there was the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and it was the most full circle moment of my life because as a 6-year-old girl that went there, I was a young girl myself. I love that you are transporting people to your homeland and honoring your family,” Barrymore said.


Mark Seliger

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She had been referring to Johnson’s latest endeavor, Papatui — a men’s personal care brand featuring skin, hair, body and tattoo care products made with cleaner ingredients and focused on performance. 


“Thank you so much for saying that, with Papatui, it’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing that,” Johnson replied. 


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In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of the brand’s March 10 launch, the Black Adam actor discussed how he came up with the name for the skincare line.


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“I remember telling my team, ‘I’m getting ready to take the girls back to Hawaii. Let me go back there and let me just sit in that aloha spirit that I always talk about,’” the father of three said. “And out of that, something really cool happened.”

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He recalled how his Samoan grandfather “always smelled amazing” and “was always well-groomed.”


His nickname for Johnson was “Tui.” 


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“And I thought, ‘Okay, let’s start there. There’s something interesting there,’” he said. The actor then added “Papa” for his favorite role — “proud girl dad.”


They also played a game called “The Fanny Five.”




Drew Barrymore.
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The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean; Dwayne Johnson/Twitter



Dressed as The Rock’s viral black turtleneck and fanny photo, Barrymore reached into her pouch to pull out questions. 


One was, “Do you think that you can do five squats with me on your back?” which he completed with ease. 

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Hawaii delivers last-second win over Cal in Hawaii Bowl | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii delivers last-second win over Cal in Hawaii Bowl | Honolulu Star-Advertiser


Jamm Aquino / jamm.aquino@staradvertiser.com

Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado (12) threw a pass against the Cal Golden Bears during the first half of Wednesday’s Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex.

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Reserve quarterback Luke Weaver came off the sideline and threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left to deliver the Hawaii football team a 35-31 victory over California in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday.

The Golden Bears took a 31-28 lead with 1:57 to play on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s 1-yard sneak.

The Warriors drove to the 22 on quarterback Micah Alejado’s 13-yard pass to Cam Barfield. But Alejado was hurt on the play, and he hobbled to the UH sideline.

Weaver, who was activated for this game, then lofted the decisive scoring pass to Cenacle.

Weaver was limited to four regular-season games to preserve his redshirt season. But the redshirt limit does not apply to the postseason, clearing Weaver to be activated.

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The Warriors scored 21 points in a row to tie it at 21 with 13:50 to play.

Down 21-13, Micah Alejado lofted a 3-yard pass to the threshold of the end zone. Pofele Ashlock made a leaping catch, then curled the ball around the right pylon for the touchdown.

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On the 2-point play, Alejado under-handed a shuttle pass to Barfield, who found the end zone to tie it.

Led by Campbell High graduate Sagapolutele’s accurate passing — many on side-armed throws to the flats — the Golden Bears scored on their first three possessions for a 21-0 lead.

But the Warriors eventually got on the board in the second quarter. A play after Pofele Ashlock dropped a screen, he made a one-handed grab for a 30-yard gain. The Warriors drove to the 13, from where Alejado found Ashlock at the end of a corner route to cut the deficit to 21-7 with 3:57 left in the half.

On the Bears’ next possession, Matagi Thompson broke up Sagapolutele’s third-down pass. On fourth down, reserve defensive back Riis Weber blocked Michael Kern’s punt. That set up Kansei Matsuzawa’s 29-yard field goal.


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Federal judge upholds Hawaii’s new climate change tax on cruise passengers

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Federal judge upholds Hawaii’s new climate change tax on cruise passengers


A federal judge’s ruling allows Hawaii’s new tourist tax, which includes a levy on cruise ship passengers, to take effect in 2026

HONOLULU — A federal judge’s ruling clears the way for Hawaii to include cruise ship passengers in a new tourist tax to help cope with climate change, a levy set to go into effect at the start of 2026.

U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake on Tuesday denied a request seeking to stop officials from enforcing the new law on cruises.

In the nation’s first such levy to help cope with a warming planet, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed legislation in May that raises tax revenue to deal with eroding shorelines, wildfires and other climate problems. Officials estimate the tax will generate nearly $100 million annually.

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The levy increases rates on hotel room and vacation rental stays but also imposes a new 11% tax on the gross fares paid by a cruise ship’s passengers, starting next year, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports.

Cruise Lines International Association challenged the tax in a lawsuit, along with a Honolulu company that provides supplies and provisions to cruise ships and tour businesses out of Kauai and the Big Island that rely on cruise ship passengers. Among their arguments is that the new law violates the Constitution by taxing cruise ships for the privilege of entering Hawaii ports.

Plaintiff lawyers also argued that the tax would hurt tourism by making cruises more expensive. The lawsuit notes the law authorizes counties to collect an additional 3% surcharge, bringing the total to 14% of prorated fares.

“Cruise tourism generates nearly $1 billion in total economic impact for Hawai‘i and supports thousands of local jobs, and we remain focused on ensuring that success continues on a lawful, sustainable foundation,” association spokesperson Jim McCarthy said in a statement.

According to court records, plaintiffs will appeal.

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Hawaii will continue to defend the law, which requires cruise operators to pay their share of transient accommodation tax to address climate change threats to the state, state Attorney General Anne Lopez said in a statement.

The U.S. government intervened in the case, calling the tax a “scheme to extort American citizens and businesses solely to benefit Hawaii” in conflict with federal law.



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Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is underway at Kīlauea | Maui Now

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Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is underway at Kīlauea | Maui Now


December 23, 2025, 9:01 PM HST

[V1cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (west Halemaʻumaʻu crater) VC: USGS

Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 8:10 p.m. HST on Dec. 23, according to an update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Sustained lava fountains approximately 100 feet in height are currently erupting from both north and south vents, with increasing heights.

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Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1,000 feet high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet above ground level.  According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the southwest. 

[V3cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (south Halemaʻumaʻu crater) VC: USGS
  • All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park; commercial airports in Hawai’i County (KOA and ITO) will not be affected by this activity.
  • Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
  • KPcam and MKcam provide views of the plume height for aviation purposes

Episode 39 was preceded by overflows of degassed lava that began at approximately 6:41 p.m. from the south vent and continued to increase in intensity until 8:10 p.m., when sustained fountaining began, according to the HVO.

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Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days. 

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

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