China Owns John Cena
WWE star-turned-actor John Cena posted a humiliating video apologizing to China after he accidentally admitted that Taiwan, a sovereign state that the Chinese Communist Party does not recognize, is, in fact, a sovereign state.
From his apology, one may think Cena went on a rant in support of Taiwan’s independence from China, but his remarks were incredibly mundane. Cena told TVBS, a Taiwanese network, that “Taiwan is the first country” that can view his new film Fast and Furious 9.
Cena quickly issued a profuse apology in Mandarin, the most common language spoken in China for the “slip.”
“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 said. “I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I apologize, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you.”
John Cena apologized in Chinese on Sina Weibo after calling Taiwan a country during an interview promoting Fast & Furious 9 pic.twitter.com/dzRKIYgEzL
— Joe Yizhou Xu, PhD (@JoeXu) May 24, 2021
Cena’s urgent kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party is very different from the way Cena treats American politicians. Cena openly mocked and ridiculed former President Donald Trump on several occasions. He has weighed in on cultural issues by donating $1 million to Black Lives Matter.
Hypocritically, Cena condemned then-candidate Trump’s proposed “Muslim ban” in 2015, yet has had nothing to say about the ongoing detainment, torture, and “reeducation” of Uighur Muslims in China.
Cena’s capitulation to the Chinese Communist Party is shameful, but he is not the only celebrity bowing before the Chinese government.
Many celebrities have hypocritically remained silent on the atrocities committed by the Chinese government while condemning American leaders. A key reason actors are silent on China is because they’re looking for a major payday.
China is home to one billion people. One billion people can buy a lot of movie tickets and Hollywood producers are well aware of that fact. Because the Chinese Communist Party has full authority over which films can be screened in China, many American producers have self-censored or edited their films to appease the Chinese government. The Chinese authorities ensure that foreign filmmakers follow their editorial guidelines by only allowing roughly 34 foreign films to be aired to Chinese audiences. The tough competition ensures films will be fully censored just so they have a chance of being chosen.
This effort to censor Hollywood is a vital part of China’s soft-power campaign as it works to grow its influence over the American people. Cena proved to be the useful idiot China needed to maintain its dishonest campaign against Taiwan.