Cena said he thought the incident could cost him his role in James Gunn’s Peacemaker.
PublishedDecember 5, 2025 7:00 PM EST•UpdatedDecember 5, 2025 7:00 PM EST
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In 2021, WWE and Hollywood star John Cena issued a Mandarin-language apology video after referring to Taiwan as a country.
“Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9,” Cena said while promoting the film.
The comment angered Beijing, which recognizes Taiwan as part of its territory. “I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry for my mistake,” Cena said.
As he deserved, Cena faced backlash in the United States for bowing to the Chinese Communist Party.
“John Cena apologized to China for calling Taiwan a country during promotion for his latest movie,” OutKick founder Clay Travis said at the time. “News flash, Taiwan is a country. This groveling apology is pathetic.”
Pathetic, indeed.
On Friday, Cena appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and reflected on the apology.
“The thing that was the biggest kick in the nuts was when people stateside got pissed off,” he explained.
“Because you apologized?” Rogan asked.
“Yes. In Chinese. And I understand completely, like, bowing down to the demand of this… gosh. What a shitty move by me. I should have taken a breath. Again, what did I learn? Don’t be reactive,” Cena said.
“I had to apologize to China, and in apologizing to China, I pissed off my home country. I’m a patriot. I love the United States of America and everything it stands for, but, like, no one — it was never enough. Nobody was happy. Everybody was f—– up,” he added.
Cena said he thought the incident could cost him his role in James Gunn’s Peacemaker.
“When they came out with all of this stuff, I went directly to James Gunn and was like, hey man, if you have to fire me, I understand,” he said.
To be fair, Cena’s career spans two decades, and his apology — not his comment — is the only major public misstep he’s made. By all accounts, he’s one of the more generous figures in both wrestling and acting.
On December 13, Cena will participate in his final wrestling match, an event WWE has been building toward for more than a year and a half.
Notably, Cena turned down the company’s offer to do a two-hour special celebrating his career. Instead, he chose to spotlight a lineup of up-and-coming performers ahead of his final match, reportedly against Gunter.
Arguably one of the five most successful professional wrestlers in American history, Cena chose to pay it forward.
But, yes, the apology was pathetic.
