How John Cena Covered His Manhood During That Nude Oscars Bit

In what shouldn't come as a huge shock, there was more than an oversized envelope protecting John Cena during that nude bit at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday night.

The viral moment originated as a joke to commemorate the 50th anniversary of when a man named Robert Opel posed as a journalist to gain access to the Oscars in 1974, only to streak nude across the stage just as British actor David Niven was in the middle of introducing Elizabeth Taylor.

Recalling the jaw-dropping incident, host Jimmy Kimmel remarked, "Can you imagine if a nude man ran across the stage today?"

"I said, can you imagine if a nude man ran across the stage today? Wouldn't that be crazy?" Kimmel quipped, when Cena initially refused to come out.

"I changed my mind, I don't want to do the streaker bit anymore," the 46-year-old said, after poking his head out from the side of the stage. After a bit of negotiating, he eventually acquiesced, awkwardly shuffling to the microphone with the oversized envelope containing the names of the nominees covering his manhood.

"Costumes, they are so important. Maybe the most important thing there is," Cena noted, before Kimmel stepped in to help.

However, had Cena had a wardrobe—err, envelope malfunction, he would not in fact have exposed himself to the A-list crowd on attendance. (In either case, viewers at home would have likely been spared due to the time delay.)

In backstage photos, Cena could be seen wearing a nude-colored loincloth-type garment over his privates that sort of resembled a G-string, only without the string, obviously. Oh, the magic of Hollywood!

For what it's worth, though the bit nearly overshadowed the nominees, Holly Waddington was eventually awarded the Best Costume Design Oscar to Poor Things, beating out the other nominees in the category, including Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon and Oppenheimer.