It’s no great secret that Communist China is a despotic, murderous, and evil regime. For example, it’s been widely reported that up to one million Uyghur Muslims have been forcibly detained by the brutal Chinese communist government in so-called “re-education camps,” where they are reportedly subjected to forced labor, indoctrination, and sterilization, and women are systematically raped. Let alone their disregard for the rights of other sovereign nations, or even their own non-Muslim citizens.
Almost a year ago, I wrote that “China is our generation’s Nazi Germany.” As their pattern of human rights abuse continues with an obsessive eye toward economic and regional domination, that categorization remains true.
And this is why the image of Western superstars groveling for the forgiveness of our generation’s Nazi Germany is so appalling. Few regimes on Earth exhibit such depraved immorality that a “good versus bad” calculus becomes almost redundant, and China is one of them. The lack of subtlety or nuance regarding the abhorrent nature of China’s actions makes the propensity of Western superstars to bend for China even more nauseating.
Enter John Cena.
The actor and WWE star appeared on Chinese social media on Tuesday to apologize…for referring to Taiwan as a “country” while promoting “Fast & Furious 9.”
“On May 8, TVBS released a video of Cena excitedly promoting the film ‘Fast & Furious 9’ in Mandarin for Taiwanese audiences,” reported Taiwan News. “In the video, Cena emphasized that ‘Taiwan will be the first country to see Fast & Furious 9,’ and speaking to Taiwanese viewers, he reiterated, ‘You are the first to see this movie.’”
Cena apologized in Chinese, with the South China Morning Post translating his revolting self-flagellation to re-ingratiate himself with the despotic regime:
Hi China, I’m John Cena. I’m in the middle of Fast and Furious 9 promotions. I’m doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews. Everyone was asking me if I could use Chinese – [movie] staff gave me a lot of information, so there was a lot of interviews and information.
I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, very important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I apologize, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you.
This, frankly, is revolting. Not only is it ridiculous to apologize to an evil regime for mere words, but Cena is apologizing for true words. Taiwan, despite what China claims, is a country.
For reasons we can only assume are financial in nature, John Cena is ignoring basic facts while kneeling at the feet of the world’s darkest dictatorship and begging for their forgiveness.
Of course, John Cena is not the first celebrity to dance for his dinner. LeBron James, for example, famously avoids criticizing China’s authoritarian policies for the same reasons.
On an individual level, it is shocking for John Cena to kiss the boots of a government who are mirroring the genocidal strategies of Nazi Germany. On a moral and cultural level, Cena’s money-driven capitulation proves just how blurry the line between good and evil becomes when money is involved.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.