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The Rock Reacts to Nearly Naked John Cena; Kimmel on Envelope Size

Jimmy Kimmel offered more details on how having a nearly naked John Cena came about, while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shared some thoughts.

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Article Summary

  • At the Oscars, John Cena's nearly nude gag with Kimmel steals the show.
  • Holly Waddington wins Costume Design award amidst Cena's viral moment.
  • Kimmel details network's intense scrutiny over Cena's envelope coverage.
  • The Rock jokes about missing a WrestleMania moment with nearly naked Cena.

It was definitely one of the biggest highlights of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel-hosted 96th Annual Academy Awards broadcast. Of course, we're talking about "Achievement in Costume Design" – a very important & essential category but not one you automatically associate with "viral moments." While Holly Waddington would walk away with the win for Poor Things, it was what Kimmel and presenter John Cena had in store to introduce the nominees that grabbed attention.

Referencing that famous 1974 Oscars moment when a streaker interrupted presenter David Niven, Kimmel dropped a ten-ton "hint" about how nutty it would be if that happened again. After a few more blatant promps, we see Cena pop up from behind one of the stage props – shirtless, with the implication being that he was naked. After expressing his last-minute doubts about the plan and criticizing Kimmel for coming up with the idea, Cena eventually walks out on stage – with a large nomination envelope covering his private area. While we would learn later that Cena wasn't actually naked, he was wearing the least amount he had to wear to pass network standards – something Kimmel addressed on his late-night talk show on Monday night.

john cena
Image: ABC Screencaps

"Getting this on the air… of all the times I've hosted the Oscars or the Emmys or anything, no comedy bit has ever received more scrutiny than this"  Kimmel revealed about the Cena moment. "There were meetings and site meetings, emails and texts and phone calls and people sweating. Somebody was crying. Then once they realized we weren't going to take no for an answer … there was intense discussion about the the envelope." While the network was pushing for as large of an envelope as possible, the Oscars team would eventually go with their original envelope. "I'd say congratulations, John Cena. The commotion you caused. Very rarely does an idea literally push the envelope, and this one did," Kimmel joked.

Later that night, Kimmel would be joined by Oscars presenter Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson – and kicking in at around the 3:20 mark, the two discuss a backstage moment where Kimmel and a half-naked Cena ran into The Rock. While the two were talking, Kimmel jokes that he was thinking that The Rock missed a great "WrestleMania" moment by not hitting Cena with a steel chair. Johnson laughs, adding that he has no interest in going one-on-one with a nearly naked Cena – and we'll stop there because the rest of it needs to be seen/heard:

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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