Wrestler and actor, John Cena has apologized to China, professing his love for the country after calling Taiwan a "country" during an interview that generated a backlash among fans in China, Hollywood's most important international market.
The controversy erupted after Cena who plays the brother of Vin Diesel's
Dom Toretto in the ninth edition of the popular "Fast & Furious"
franchise gave an interview to Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS promoting the
film.
"Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9," Cena spoke in Mandarin to TVBS.
Taiwan is a self-governed democratic island, but China claims it as its
sovereign territory despite the two sides being ruled separately since
the end of a civil war over 70 years ago.
China angrily frowns at any suggestion of Taiwan's independence and
tries to punish whoever insinuated such by using their huge economic
power to control speech on the topic around the world.
In 2018, the Chinese government demanded that American Airlines (AAL),
Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) change the way they referred to Taiwan or
risk sanctions in China, one of the world's biggest markets for air
travel.
Following the outrage in China after Cena's interview, on Tuesday, May
25, Cena offered an apology on Weibo, China's popular social media
platform.
Speaking again in Mandarin, Cena did not refer to Taiwan by name but
said that he "did a lot of interviews" and "made a mistake."
"I'm sorry for my mistake," Cena said. "I must say now, [it's] very,
very, very, very important [that] I love, and respect even more, China
and the Chinese people."
China is the world's second biggest economy and the world's biggest box office.
The "Fast & Furious" franchise has received great success in China
and the new F9 made nearly $136 million in China last weekend, making it
the biggest opening for a Hollywood film during the pandemic.
Cena also has many fans in China, with more than 600,000 followers on Weibo and has been studying Chinese for years.
