Fans in the United States and other territories still have another month to go before being able to catch the latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast 9, in theaters. But China is already running it and, as it so happens, probably considering pulling the plug on it.
You wouldn’t think that a movie about “car-nage” could get mired in political controversy, but this is China. And not even Hollywood dares mess with China.
Today, Universal Pictures, Fast 9, and John Cena, who joins the Fast family as Dom’s long-lost and revenge-thirsty brother (and a professional assassin), are caught up in a huge scandal caused by an older comment Cena made in an interview in Taiwan, in which he called Taiwan a “country.” “Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9,” were his exact words.
For all intents and purposes, Taiwan is a country. It split from China in 1949 and has its own democratically elected government, but China refuses to consider it an independent state. So, whatever public mention of Taiwan as such is bound to cross China’s infamous “red line.” In this case, as CNN points out, it can mean anything from censoring F9 to pulling it from theaters altogether, for good.
As negative buzz and calls for a boycott were picking up on Weibo, Cena issued both a written and verbal apology, with the latter available at the bottom of the page. He doesn’t address the incident in detail, and, for that matter, he doesn’t say that Taiwan is not a country, but he insists he loves China and is “very, very, very sorry” for “one mistake” that he made.
The same media outlet notes that most Weibo commenters are not convinced by the apology and still call for authorities to pull the film from theaters. It is but the most recent instance of Hollywood’s tip-toeing around China, lest their box office chances get crushed.
The ridiculousness of the situation aside, Universal can’t afford to have F9 pulled from Chinese theaters. China represents the number one box office in the world with the most big-budget productions. With Fast 9 being the first tentpole to re-invite people into theaters, and given its massive budget, it can’t fall short of expectations.
Today, Universal Pictures, Fast 9, and John Cena, who joins the Fast family as Dom’s long-lost and revenge-thirsty brother (and a professional assassin), are caught up in a huge scandal caused by an older comment Cena made in an interview in Taiwan, in which he called Taiwan a “country.” “Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9,” were his exact words.
For all intents and purposes, Taiwan is a country. It split from China in 1949 and has its own democratically elected government, but China refuses to consider it an independent state. So, whatever public mention of Taiwan as such is bound to cross China’s infamous “red line.” In this case, as CNN points out, it can mean anything from censoring F9 to pulling it from theaters altogether, for good.
As negative buzz and calls for a boycott were picking up on Weibo, Cena issued both a written and verbal apology, with the latter available at the bottom of the page. He doesn’t address the incident in detail, and, for that matter, he doesn’t say that Taiwan is not a country, but he insists he loves China and is “very, very, very sorry” for “one mistake” that he made.
The same media outlet notes that most Weibo commenters are not convinced by the apology and still call for authorities to pull the film from theaters. It is but the most recent instance of Hollywood’s tip-toeing around China, lest their box office chances get crushed.
The ridiculousness of the situation aside, Universal can’t afford to have F9 pulled from Chinese theaters. China represents the number one box office in the world with the most big-budget productions. With Fast 9 being the first tentpole to re-invite people into theaters, and given its massive budget, it can’t fall short of expectations.
John Cena to China after calling Taiwan a country: I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologise, I apologise, I’m very sorry.
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) May 25, 2021
He's promoting Fast and Furious 9pic.twitter.com/y1NpAkGFVj