diff --git a/config/init_db.sql b/config/init_db.sql
index 25ea2a42f3a..118d8d02687 100644
--- a/config/init_db.sql
+++ b/config/init_db.sql
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS test;
 CREATE USER 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
 GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
 GRANT GRANT OPTION ON *.* TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost';
+GRANT PROXY ON ''@'' TO 'vt_dba'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
 
 # User for app traffic, with global read-write access.
 CREATE USER 'vt_app'@'localhost';
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
index 76f7842563b..fba7c794fc0 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtbackup.txt
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ Flags:
       --mysql-shell-backup-location string                          location where the backup will be stored
       --mysql-shell-dump-flags string                               flags to pass to mysql shell dump utility. This should be a JSON string and will be saved in the MANIFEST (default "{\"threads\": 4}")
       --mysql-shell-flags string                                    execution flags to pass to mysqlsh binary to be used during dump/load (default "--defaults-file=/dev/null --js -h localhost")
-      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                               flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"excludeUsers\": [\"'root'@'localhost'\"], \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
+      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                               flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
       --mysql-shell-should-drain                                    decide if we should drain while taking a backup or continue to serving traffic
       --mysql-shell-speedup-restore                                 speed up restore by disabling redo logging and double write buffer during the restore process
       --mysql-shutdown-timeout duration                             how long to wait for mysqld shutdown (default 5m0s)
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
index 77d825dee9e..5e82ad5b28e 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ Flags:
       --mysql-shell-backup-location string                               location where the backup will be stored
       --mysql-shell-dump-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell dump utility. This should be a JSON string and will be saved in the MANIFEST (default "{\"threads\": 4}")
       --mysql-shell-flags string                                         execution flags to pass to mysqlsh binary to be used during dump/load (default "--defaults-file=/dev/null --js -h localhost")
-      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"excludeUsers\": [\"'root'@'localhost'\"], \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
+      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
       --mysql-shell-should-drain                                         decide if we should drain while taking a backup or continue to serving traffic
       --mysql-shell-speedup-restore                                      speed up restore by disabling redo logging and double write buffer during the restore process
       --mysql-shutdown-timeout duration                                  timeout to use when MySQL is being shut down. (default 5m0s)
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
index bbf5174ae98..5ff9a4b25aa 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vttablet.txt
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ Flags:
       --mysql-shell-backup-location string                               location where the backup will be stored
       --mysql-shell-dump-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell dump utility. This should be a JSON string and will be saved in the MANIFEST (default "{\"threads\": 4}")
       --mysql-shell-flags string                                         execution flags to pass to mysqlsh binary to be used during dump/load (default "--defaults-file=/dev/null --js -h localhost")
-      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"excludeUsers\": [\"'root'@'localhost'\"], \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
+      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
       --mysql-shell-should-drain                                         decide if we should drain while taking a backup or continue to serving traffic
       --mysql-shell-speedup-restore                                      speed up restore by disabling redo logging and double write buffer during the restore process
       --mysql-shutdown-timeout duration                                  timeout to use when MySQL is being shut down. (default 5m0s)
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
index 538fdd3ea47..0aa69dfb204 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vttestserver.txt
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Flags:
       --mysql-shell-backup-location string                               location where the backup will be stored
       --mysql-shell-dump-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell dump utility. This should be a JSON string and will be saved in the MANIFEST (default "{\"threads\": 4}")
       --mysql-shell-flags string                                         execution flags to pass to mysqlsh binary to be used during dump/load (default "--defaults-file=/dev/null --js -h localhost")
-      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"excludeUsers\": [\"'root'@'localhost'\"], \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
+      --mysql-shell-load-flags string                                    flags to pass to mysql shell load utility. This should be a JSON string (default "{\"threads\": 4, \"loadUsers\": true, \"updateGtidSet\": \"replace\", \"skipBinlog\": true, \"progressFile\": \"\"}")
       --mysql-shell-should-drain                                         decide if we should drain while taking a backup or continue to serving traffic
       --mysql-shell-speedup-restore                                      speed up restore by disabling redo logging and double write buffer during the restore process
       --mysql_bind_host string                                           which host to bind vtgate mysql listener to (default "localhost")
diff --git a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqlshellbackupengine.go b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqlshellbackupengine.go
index a4210518ac8..d1a7bd0fee0 100644
--- a/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqlshellbackupengine.go
+++ b/go/vt/mysqlctl/mysqlshellbackupengine.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ var (
 	// flags passed to the Dump command, as a JSON string
 	mysqlShellDumpFlags = `{"threads": 4}`
 	// flags passed to the Load command, as a JSON string
-	mysqlShellLoadFlags = `{"threads": 4, "loadUsers": true, "excludeUsers": ["'root'@'localhost'"], "updateGtidSet": "replace", "skipBinlog": true, "progressFile": ""}`
+	mysqlShellLoadFlags = `{"threads": 4, "loadUsers": true, "updateGtidSet": "replace", "skipBinlog": true, "progressFile": ""}`
 	// drain a tablet when taking a backup
 	mysqlShellBackupShouldDrain = false
 	// disable redo logging and double write buffer