John Cena sparks backlash after appearing to use Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to promote his show Peacemaker
‘Please delete this. People are dying,’ commented one person
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Your support makes all the difference.John Cena has sparked backlash after appearing to use Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to promote his HBO series Peacemaker.
The professional wrestler and actor took to Twitter on Thursday (24 February), appearing to respond to the news that Russia had attacked Ukraine earlier that morning.
CCTV cameras caught Russian military vehicles rolling through border force checkpoints as ground troops crossed the Crimea border into Ukraine early on Thursday (24 February).
“If I could somehow summon the powers of a real life #Peacemaker, I think this would be a great time to do so,” wrote Cena.
His post included a sponsored hashtag for the HBO Max series, in which he stars as the titular DC Comics superhero.
The 44-year-old attracted widespread criticism for his post, which many people called “insensitive”.
“I’m just saying there is never an appropriate moment to say this, especially now,” one person commented.
Another added: “Can’t believe you tweeted this,” with a third person writing: “Bad time to promote a f***ing tv show. Please delete this. People are dying.”
Someone else wrote: “Great time to hashtag your show for trending purposes. Very insensitive don’t you think?”
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“Now is not the time to make this about your CW-tier show,” said another, with others accusing Cena of “using a war to advertise a show”.
One person urged Cena to donate money to help Ukraine, writing: “You don’t have the powers of Peacemaker but you do have the power of money and status.”
Another user wrote: “I understand the sentiment but using this moment to plug the show is a bit… bleh.”
Dozens of people have died after Russia attacked Ukraine with airstrikes in a “full-scale invasion”.
Ukraine’s health minister says 57 people have been killed as a result of the Russian invasion, with 169 more wounded.
You can follow The Independent’s live blog on Russia-Ukraine here.
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