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John Cena Issues Apology To China In Mandarin For Calling Taiwan A Country

Former professional wrestler-turned-Hollywood star John Cena issued a truly pathetic apology to China on Tuesday for referring to Taiwan as a “country” while promoting F9, the latest Fast and Furious movie.

The statement was factual, but it didn’t go over well. Taiwan considers itself its own, but China doesn’t recognize its independence.

Cena’s Groveling Apology

Speaking in Mandarin, Cena took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to express his love and adoration to China while also saying how profoundly sorry he is for his mistake. Looks like he didn’t want to jeopardize his new movie being shown in China.

“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 made one mistake,” he added. “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 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.”

He’s saying whatever it takes so his movie doesn’t get shut down in China.

Cena Hit With Backlash

The New York Post reported that unfortunately for Cena, many Chinese social media users were not satisfied with the apology. They noticed the Hollywood star never actually said that Taiwan is part of China.

“Please say ‘Taiwan is part of China’ in Chinese, otherwise we will not accept,” one commenter demanded, with another adding, “Actually, it’s better to post a video and directly say that Taiwan is a part of China. What’s the point of apologizing?”

“Maybe someone gave you the wrong information, which led you to say these words in the interview,” a third user wrote. “Now it has been corrected in time. Taiwan Province belongs to China, and it has never been an independent country.”

Cena was also taken to task over his apology on Twitter:

Cena’s Palpable Desperation

Cena reportedly learned Mandarin to help him with his wrestling promotions in China, and he has over 600,000 followers on Weibo.

The latest Fast And Furious – F9 – movie was directed by the Taiwanese-born Justin Lin, and it has been a massive success in China. Variety reported that it has grossed nearly $137 million since opening there last Friday.

The movie opened in China first, as it is not due to open in the United States until June 25.

Fox News reported that there was much backlash in China after Cena’s initial comments on Taiwan being a country.

The backlash was so bad that the success of Fast And Furious 9 in China was jeopardized, which is undoubtedly why Cena appeared so desperate in his apology video.

Fans of Cena from his wrestling days will be particularly saddened to see him grovel to China in such a pathetic way.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen indeed.

James Conrad

James Conrad’s passion for politics is only overshadowed by his longstanding interest in Hollywood. His unique perspective as a gay conservative fuels him to challenge celebrity views and those who think they have a right to tell anyone how to think or vote. James proudly wields his minority point of view to combat identity politics and cut through his typecast. Fun fact: James’ guilty pleasure is the British royal family.