The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday mocked John Cena’s recent apology to China after he called Taiwan a country.
The movie star and former pro wrestler started an international controversy after making the statement during a promotional interview for his upcoming film, F9 — then issuing an apology (in Mandarin) to China.
“I made a mistake,” Cena said in his apology video, posted Tuesday. “Now I have to say one thing which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very sorry for my mistakes. Sorry. Sorry. I’m really sorry. You have to understand that I love and respect China and Chinese people.”
The Late Show on Wednesday released the “full” apology video, mocking Cena’s decision. “Not only is Taiwan not a country, it is also not even a real place,” read the faux subtitles. “It’s like Zootopia, which coincidentally made $220 million in China.”
“And don’t even get me started on Tibet! Always complaining, complaining, complaining about China. I will give Tibet something to complain about,” Cena appeared to say before the video cut to him giving an Attitude Adjustment to a digital 14th Dalai Lama (“I call that a ‘Dalai-Slam-A”).
The Cena matter highlighted the fraught relationship between Hollywood and China. Entertainment industry figures, including professional sports players, have been criticized for comments perceived as political. And Hollywood studios have been criticized over claims that they shape content to avoid offending Chinese government censors.
Watch the Late Show video below.
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