It doesn't take long before the tone-deaf post on Twitter, in which the actor appears to promote his HBO show, goes viral with people calling him insensitive.
- Feb 26, 2022
AceShowbiz - John Cena faced backlash for his insensitive tweet regarding the Ukraine crisis. In a tweet on Thursday, February 24, the actor made use of the news of Russia invading Ukraine to promote his HBO show "Peacemaker".
"If I could somehow summon the powers of a real life #Peacemaker, I think this would be a great time to do so," Cena tweeted. He was referencing the superhero series, in which he takes the titular role.
It didn't take long before the tone-deaf tweet went viral with people calling him insensitive. "Great time to hashtag your show for trending purposes. Very insensitive don't you think?" one person said.
Another user added, "I'm just saying there is never an appropriate moment to say this, especially now." Echoing the sentiment, someone else posted, "I understand the sentiment but using this moment to plug the show is a bit… bleh."
"I hope you didn't mean to come off as disrespectful by using this to promote your show. You don't have the powers of peacemaker but you do have the power of money and status. Please donate to help Ukraine or spread the link to donate," another user said.
The tweet arrived after it was reported on Thursday morning at the local time that Russian troops were crossing the border from multiple directions. Some videos that went viral on social media featured explosions in several Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv.
On Friday morning, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky revealed 137 civilians have been killed so far by Russian military personnel invading the country. Meanwhile, hundreds more have been wounded. In his speech, he called those who died "heroes," adding, "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven."
