John Cena Reflects On ‘Taiwan Is A Country†Controversy

John Cena reflected on the backlash he faced for referring to Taiwan as a country.

WWE legend John Cena was a recent guest on the Joe Rogan Experience. During the conversation, the 17-time WWE Champion looked back at the time he found himself at the center of controversy for calling Taiwan a country. China views Taiwan as a part of its own territory and rejects any claim that itâ€s a self-governed state.

John Cena revealed that he was reading in Mandarin from a teleprompter while promoting Fast & Furious 9 in an interview with a Taiwanese broadcaster. However, he wasnâ€t aware of the situation between China and Taiwan when he said those words.

“Iâ€m doing promptor reads for everywhere,†John Cena began, “and thatâ€s like, ‘Hey, go to this place and see this movie,†and, no, my bad, I didnâ€t check the reads. Because at the end of a ten-hour day, you do a million of these things, and one of them said, like, ‘Hey, Taiwan, see this..†and it was all in Mandarin, and the opinion described Taiwan as a country. So, be the first country to see this.

“Over there, they looked through a different lens, like geopolitics are murky waters, man. When I learned of it, like, I just said it, left, everybody was cool, I did my thing, like, I read the prompt. It was like a Ron Burgundy moment, like, go fu*k yourselves, San Diego. Itâ€s like the most offensive thing you can say.

“So, Iâ€m like, ‘Man, good job John, you did 70% and people understood what youâ€re talking about.†Then they put that out, and everybody was like, ‘What the fu*k did you just say? Thatâ€s not how we do it over here.’â€

John Cena Doesnâ€t Speak Mandarin In Public Anymore

“My takeaway is it was a pretty tense moment for me. I had to apologize to China, and in apologizing to China, I pissed off my home country. Iâ€m a patriot. I love the United States of America and everything it stands for. But it was never enough; nobody was happy, everybody was f*cked up.

“It was murky waters for me, personally. Again, I donâ€t know enough depth to know that, and now, people are like, ‘Man, can you speak Mandarin for this?†I just wonâ€t do it. Itâ€s a skill that I have, but itâ€s a skill thatâ€s gonna remain with me, because I donâ€t have the depth of field to know what to call that place in that region of the world. I havenâ€t done enough research, I donâ€t have the wisdom, and I donâ€t have the cultural fluency,†John Cena said.

READ MORE: Does John Cena Have Any Regrets About His WWE Heel Turn?

If you use the quotes from this article, please credit the Joe Rogan Experience and give an H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.

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