‘The best bit in a decade’: John Cena presented at the Academy Awards wearing nothing—thanks to a prank by Jimmy Kimmel
The 2024 Academy Awards were tonight and all of Hollywood’s brightest stars were dressed to the nines in countless designers—well, most of them.
While preparing to announce the presenter for Best Costume Design, host Jimmy Kimmel gave the audience a bit of a history lesson. You see, 50 years ago in 1974 at the 46th Annual Oscars, a man infamously ran across the stage, fully nude, right as David Niven was preparing to introduce Elizabeth Taylor.
Reminiscing about this moment, Jimmy then pointedly asked the audience, “Can you imagine if a nude man ran across the stage today?” When nothing occurred, he asked again, before shifting his focus back to a very nervous-looking John Cena, who was hiding just off stage, clearly topless.
“I changed my mind. I don’t want to do the streaker bit,” John sternly told Jimmy to roaring laughter from the audience. “I just don’t feel right about it. It’s an elegant event, you know, you should feel shame right now for suggesting such a tasteless joke!”
Jimmy went on to say the bit was meant to be silly, to which John replied, “The male body is not a joke!” But Jimmy then pointed out that they still needed John to come on stage to introduce the nominees and present the award for Best Costume Design, which led to the visual punchline of the bit: a completely nude John Cena awkwardly side-stepping onto the stage, covered by nothing but the Oscars envelope.
The Oscar went to Poor Things designer Holly Waddington, who accepted the award from a semi-dressed John (who'd done a quick change during the video package).
Now—up until this point—the show had admittedly been a touch on the slow and safe side, so viewers were quick to take to X to share the glee at the bit, and John's willingness to commit:
And it wasn't just the fans at home who enjoyed the bit, with John's costar several times over, Margot Robbie, having a good laugh at the moment:
So congratulations to John and his many ~assets~, as they seem to be the biggest winners of the evening thus far if the fans are to be believed.
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