Sat Dec 06 09:40:00 UTC 2025: Summary:

In 2021, John Cena, during a promotional tour for F9, mistakenly referred to Taiwan as a country while doing an ad read in Mandarin. This sparked controversy, leading to an apology to China and backlash from his home country. Cena reflected on the incident in a recent interview with Joe Rogan, admitting his mistake of not vetting the prompter reads and understanding the cultural sensitivities surrounding the issue. He emphasized that knowing a language doesn’t equate to understanding the culture and accepted full responsibility, learning a valuable lesson from the experience. Cena even offered to step down from his role in Peacemaker following the controversy.

News Article:

John Cena Reflects on Taiwan Controversy: “I F***ed Up”

Los Angeles, CA – Actor and wrestler John Cena has opened up about the 2021 controversy that erupted after he referred to Taiwan as a country during a Mandarin ad read for F9. In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Cena reflected on the incident, admitting his mistake and the valuable lesson he learned.

The incident, which occurred during a promotional tour, sparked outrage in China, where the status of Taiwan is a sensitive political issue. Cena quickly issued an apology, but also faced criticism back in the United States.

“I got put in a bit of a hot spot,” Cena explained to Rogan, noting that he had made a commitment to conduct much of his media appearances in Mandarin. He recounted reading from a prompter that referred to Taiwan as a country without properly vetting the content. “It was a Ron Burgundy moment.”

“I had to apologize to China. In apologizing to China, I pissed off my home country. No one was happy,” he said, describing the situation as “murky waters.”

Cena took full responsibility for the incident, even after Rogan suggested it wasn’t his fault. “I do appreciate you saying, ‘It’s not your fault.’ That’s not true. It was my fault.”

The actor emphasized that he learned a crucial lesson from the experience: “Just because you know the language, doesn’t mean you know the culture.”

Following the controversy, Cena even offered to step down from his role in the HBO Max series “Peacemaker” if it was deemed necessary.

Cena learned Mandarin through a WWE program and is currently on a media tour ahead of his potential retirement match.

[H/T to Fightful for the transcription: [Insert Link to Fightful Here]]

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