Hollywood actor John Cena sparked outrage among Chinese netizens in May 2021 after referring to Taiwan as a country. He then posted a video apology stressing his “love for China.” Recently, in an interview with renowned American podcast host Joe Rogan, Cena reflected on the incident that happened four years ago and candidly revealed the truth behind it. He said that his apology not only failed to calm the anger, it actually “sank the whole ship”—even the U.S. was upset with him.
Cena emphasized that he is a true patriot, and at that time, apologizing to China was also equivalent to angering America. He said helplessly: “Back then, nothing I did was enough, because everyone was so angry.” He revealed that since the incident, whenever someone asks him to speak Chinese in public, he almost always refuses, as he feels he doesn’t have enough cultural perspective to judge what should be said in which situations.
For Cena, the most painful part was the American reaction. He reiterated, “I fully understand why Americans were angry about my apology—that was a very bad move on my part.” He admitted he reacted too quickly: “In the end, not only did I fail to fix the hole in the boat, I actually sank the whole ship.”
Source: Liberty Times Entertainment