Photos of WWE wrestler-turned-actor John Cena wearing a skirt and heels hit the Internet, and it seems pretty much everyone has an opinion about them.
The Peacemaker star was reportedly photographed on February 10 in Melbourne, Australia on the set of his upcoming film Ricky Stanicky. According to Variety, the Peter Farrelly-directed comedy centers on three long-time friends who hire a washed-up actor to pose as an imaginary friend on whom they have been blaming their bad behavior for years. Zac Efron, William H. Macy, and Jermaine Fowler star along side Cena.
“Beyond excited to help bring these characters to life (both on and off screen) with an incredible cast, our director and producers and partners at @AmazonStudios @primevideo,” Cena tweeted on February 1. “#RickyStanicky is a best friend to all — can’t wait for you to meet him!”
In the set pics, Cena wears a short plaid skirt, thigh-high stockings, and high-heeled ankle boots. Fan account JohnCenaCrews posted the pics on Instagram and Twitter over the weekend along with the caption, “Toxic masculinity? Yeah, she doesn’t go here.”
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“JOHN CENA SLAYING???” another fan account tweeted.
“John cena said ALLY!!!” another Twitter user posted on Saturday.
“Hey reluctant trans girls: if John Cena, ISO certified manliest man in America, can make it work this hard, you will have no problem whatsoever,” user @vexwerewolf, whose Twitter bio includes trans and LGBTQ+ Pride flag emojis, tweeted on Sunday.
Of course, not all the commentary was positive. “The amount of angry men in my Instagram comments after seeing John wear a skirt and heels is very telling,” @JohnCenaCrews tweeted shortly after their original Instagram post. “1. Stop projecting your fragile masculinity onto this man. 2. It’s for a movie, calm the f–k down. 3. There’s nothing wrong with a man wearing a skirt and heels. Grow up.”
That post drew backlash as well. “This man is a sellout,” on Twitter user commented of Cena. “You don’t know what masculinity it. He’s become a prostitute. Willing to do anything Hollywood tells him to for money.”
“John Sold his soul to the devil…,” another wrote.
Another user tweeted a screenshot of some of the more bizarre negative comments posted about the Cena pics.
“I guess hes [sic] been initiating to the Illuminati because they’re embarrassing him,” one user commented.
“Cena is selling his soul so he can stay relevant,” another wrote.
Cena was reportedly instrumental in establishing that his DC Extended Universe character is bisexual on Peacemaker.
“John does improv all the time, and he just turned Christopher Smith into this hyper-sexualized dude that is open to anything sexually,” series creator James Gunn told Empire last year. “I was surprised by that. But I thought, ‘I guess it makes sense that this guy isn’t one-dimensional.’”
