Freedom-loving Twitter users everywhere came off the top rope on Tuesday to deliver the social media version of an atomic elbow to actor and former WWE star John Cena, after he apologized to China for calling Taiwan a country while promoting his upcoming film “F9.”
Cena took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to apologize – in Mandarin -for calling Taiwan a country. China, an expected large market for “F9” and a country that views Taiwan as a part of their country, reacted badly.
“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,” Cena explained.
The beatdown got so extreme that “John Xina” became a thing on Twitter:
Senator Tom Cotton kept his response to Cena’s kowtow was brief but strong:
Even liberals were appalled by Cena’s apology:
Of course, it wasn’t just the left who were letting their thoughts be known:
It’s unknown what potential damage Cena’s apology could cause to ticket sales for his movie in America. It’s also unknown if Cena or any Hollywood executive cares.