The 2024 Oscars ceremony was an eventful ceremony, to say the least. From Jimmy Kimmel’s hilarious jokes to Ryan Gosling’s wonderful and powerful I’m Just Ken live performance, the ceremony was attended by some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
The night saw some surprise wins as well as some expected ones, but overall it was a memorable evening that left the audience entertained and satisfied. Yet, apart from Barbie snubs and Oppenheimer bagging 7 awards, one thing stood out the most: A naked John Cena! While fans had some wild reactions to the moment, Oscar producers revealed that it was not an easy thing to pull off.
Having John Cena Naked At The Oscars Was Harder Than One Could Have Imagined
While Oppenheimer winning and Jimmy Kimmel doing a splendid job hosting the Oscars was surely in the books of many fans, a naked John Cena was surely not in the cards. While presenting the award for Costume Design, Cena appeared stark naked, only he wasn’t entirely naked but that’s what it appeared from a distance.
And pulling the stint off was harder than one could have imagined due to the Federal Communications Commission guidelines and standards. In an exclusive interview with Variety, Rob Mills, the executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television revealed how the team pulled it off.
“There was a lot of reticence of not just a fine from the FCC, but potential complaints… I’m going to educate you a little here. A bulge cannot be showing, and you can’t show crack. It was also, ‘What happens if he drops that card?’ So, we made sure that, for all intents and purposes, he looked like a Ken doll up front. His crack was covered in the back and then the envelope was Velcro-ed on there so it wouldn’t fall. But beyond that, he was naked.”
And so after days of hard work and after going over and over the guidelines, the team successfully pulled it off, making it look like John Cena was really not wearing anything despite having it all covered (see X).
Making The Network’s S&P Comfortable Was Intense, Reveals Oscar Producer
John Cena naked at the Oscars was certainly a surprise and that is exactly what the producers of the event wanted it to be. Yet Molly McNearney, the Oscars producer, revealed making the network’s Standard and Practices executives comfortable with the decision was one of the harder things to pull off.
“They were sweating. I think at the end we all got to a spot where we were comfortable, S&P was comfortable, and it didn’t compromise the comedy a bit. I was very thankful that we didn’t have to send him out there in tighty whities, which I’m sure legal would have preferred.”
While the debate rages on about whether the WWE champ was really stark naked or not, fans are having a kick out of the situation (via X), something that McNearney wanted.
Overall, the 2024 Oscar ceremony was a night to remember, and while John Cena’s naked stint might have been a controversial moment, it certainly added to the excitement of the night.
