The perks of adulation and superstardom that are expected by-products of being a Hollywood celebrity can also sometimes boomerang back to bite one in the face. Wrestling champion-turned-actor John Cena has been on the receiving end of both extremes. As a bonafide action star with commercial blockbusters to his name, Cena has a massive fan base of sports and movie fans.
On the other hand, the Peacemaker actor has also courted controversy through his comments that have attracted some negative publicity. A few years ago during the promotions of F9, Cena got into a politically sticky situation with China following his references to Taiwan, and ended up having to rectify this error.
John Cena Apologized For His Politically Charged Comment
Being a celebrity in Hollywood means that everything one does or says comes under extreme scrutiny. John Cena, who once found himself in a delicate position, knows this more than anyone else. The DC alum got into a soup a few years ago when one of his comments caused a tense political situation with China.
The controversy started when Cena was interviewed by Chinese broadcaster TVBS (via NBC News) while promoting the 9th installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise. During the course of the conversation, the WWE champion mentioned that Taiwan was the first country to officially watch this film.
Taking into account Taiwan’s complicated association with China, the comment immediately blew up and became a geo-political scandal. To expand further, Taiwan despite having its own government, laws, and army, is not recognized as a country and continues to have a volatile relationship with China.
With Cena’s blunder regarding Taiwan’s status, social media went into overdrive with many netizens trolling the actor brutally for his ignorance. Some ardent fans also believed that it was a genuine mistake on his part. Nevertheless, the Marine star was forced to do damage control and issued an apology through the Chinese social media network Weibo (via NBC News).
“I must say right now, it’s very, very, very, very, very, very important. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry for my mistake.”
The apology is significant because Cena has a major fan base on Weibo with around 600,000 followers and has also previously revealed to Strait Times that he developed a love for Mandarin after being involved in the WWE becoming popular in China. This association therefore warranted the actor’s quick decision to counter his controversial comments.
John Cena And Dwayne Johnson Were Rivals Outside The Ring Too
Global controversies aside, John Cena has had his share of intense moments in his career as a WWE star and an actor as well. The wrestling arena though choreographed, has seen some memorable matchups over the years but none greater than what Cena had with Dwayne Johnson.
Both stars who gave the WWE its name and fame, were part of some electrifying duels that led to a real-life rivalry between them. Johnson revealed the inside details of his history with Cena on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and said-
“We had a great rivalry. In the world of wrestling, its fictionalized, its a show, but here’s the thing. Our rivalry was, it was so real. We had real problems with each other”.
The Scorpion King star also added that this intense competition between the two stars developed later into a mutual respect and admiration for each other and their work. The Rock spoke fondly of his colleague Cena saying that they were now the best of friends and that he was always rooting for him to win.
F9 can be rented on Apple TV.
