Professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena recently issued an apology to China and its millions of citizens after he prompted an international fiasco upon describing Taiwan as a country during a recent interview.
Cena issued his public apology in Mandarin during a video message that was later released on his Sina Weibo channel. The message initially begins with Cena explaining that he’d been given a lot of information by his team, and that he essentially got disoriented during his interview with Taiwanese broadcasting network TVBS when he remarked that Taiwan was the “first country” that would be able to see the latest “Fast & Furious” movie.
“Hi China, I’m John Cena. I’m in the middle of ‘Fast and Furious 9’ promotions. I’m doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews,” Cena confessed, without providing clear specifics of the remarks in question. “[Movie] staff gave me a lot of information, so there [were] a lot of interviews and information.”
“I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, very important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologise, I apologise, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you.”
However heartfelt the apology may have been, it has drawn additional backlash from critics within China and abroad, and shed light on China’s power as the world’s biggest movie market. In fact, the latest installment of the film franchise recently took in over $135 million in China alone.
With Cena’s Weibo post racking up hundreds of comments since going live, the video message has received a mixed response from the microblogging platform’s Chinese-speaking users.
“Please say in Chinese that Taiwan is part of China. Otherwise, we won’t accept it,” read one comment, which had gained thousands of likes, according to the South China Morning Post.
Another response called on Cena’s explanation “nonsense” and urged the former wrestler to say outright that “Taiwan is China’s.” The same user added that Cena “can’t take benefits from China, but in the meantime, do things to harm China’s interests.”
While some Weibo users did simply urge Cena to watch his words, the “Fast & Furious” star was also dealt a blow from the American public, including some political figures. US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) described Cena’s apology as “pathetic,” whereas commentator Keith Olbermann deemed it “shameful.”
Incidentally, the US’ National Basketball Association underwent similar backlash in 2019 when Daryl Morey, who was serving as the general manager for the Houston Rockets at the time, expressed support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The supportive tweet for the movement, however, quickly prompted an international outcry that saw Chinese sponsors cut off ties with both the Rockets and the league. Additionally, Morey and the NBA issued an apology as a result. Morey stepped away from the Rockets team a year after the scandal.