John Cena was once a professional wrestler who was associated with strength and toughness. Now, he is an actor who has sacrificed both his spine and his soul for a taste of the Chinese film market.
Cena recently made the grave mistake of acknowledging that Taiwan is a country, saying during an interview promoting the latest Fast and Furious film that “Taiwan is the first country that can watch” the film.
For all of its human rights abuses and atrocities, the Chinese government is incredibly thin-skinned about this. And so, naturally, Cena issued a groveling apology.
“I made a mistake. Now, I have to say one thing which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and Chinese people,” Cena said in Mandarin, in an apology video that is impossible to distinguish from a hostage video. “I’m very sorry for my mistakes. Sorry. Sorry. I’m really sorry. You have to understand that I love and respect China and Chinese people.”
Cena used to have a spine. He was a high-profile opt-out of the 2018 World Wrestling Entertainment show in Saudi Arabia after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. But now that Cena has fully embraced his acting career, access to the Chinese market is far more important than such trifles as human rights.
The Fast and Furious film Cena was promoting, F9, has grossed $136 million in China so far. It’s projected to finish around $250 million. Meanwhile, the director for another Cena film, The Suicide Squad, is pushing to make sure it can also be released in China. Cena also shot a film in China with Jackie Chan, which appears to be headed for a 2022 release.
Cena is no different than any other sellout who has pretended to have principles, only to throw them away instantly in order to appease China. The same can be said for the NBA and the face of the league, LeBron James. It can be said for Disney and its properties. Actor Mark Ruffalo even managed to accuse Israel of genocide, but don’t hold your breath waiting for him to confront the actual genocide against Muslims that is going on in China.
For just about everyone in Hollywood, there is no set of morals that takes priority over coddling China. That includes even simply calling Taiwan a country, which it most certainly, obviously is. Cena and others will continue to repeat whatever Chinese talking points they are told to, so long as they think people will keep watching their movies. They prove that money speaks louder than human rights.
