BEIJING – WWE wrestler turned actor John Cena Tuesday tendered an unconditional apology to Chinese fans after calling Taiwan a country during the promotion of his latest film Fast 9.
It all started earlier this month when the 44-year-old while speaking with a Taiwanese television said ‘Taiwan would be the first country to see the latest Fast & Furious’.
China regards Taiwan as its province – which is a self-ruled democratic island. The comments of American professional wrestlers then sparked outrage across Chinese social media as it irked many of the residents of the East Asian country.
The extreme backlash on the Chinese social media app triggered the campaign to boycott Cena’s upcoming blockbuster franchise. Following all the criticism, the WWE star then decided to speak directly to Chinese fans.
Taking it to Chinese strictly-controlled social media giant, Weibo, he posted an apology clip in the Mandarin language.‘I made a mistake. I must say right now. It’s so important, Sorry. Sorry. I’m really sorry. You have to understand that I love and respect China and the Chinese people, Cena can be heard addressing his more than half-million fans on his Weibo account.
Per popular request, here's Mr. John Cena's apology video with English subtitles. I kept all the incoherence in the video, as well as the curious absence of what he's actually apologizing for pic.twitter.com/WmJlRcyOID
— Tony Lin 林東尼 (@tony_zy) May 25, 2021
Fast and Furious 9 was expected to release on May 18 initially in Taiwan but was postponed following a surge in novel coronavirus cases.
The apology of the celebrated wrestler comes as the movie smashed through the box office during its May 21 release in China. According to Chinese state media, Fast 9 has generated more than $150 million. The movie became the 87th movie in China to break the 1 billion Yuan record at the box office.
Meanwhile, a Chinese state-controlled newspaper hailed John Cena’s timely apology. John reveals his willingness to uphold the values of China and sets a good example for all Westerners to follow, the statement reads.
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