After professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena presented the Best Costume Design award at the Academy Awards while wearing very little clothing, conservatives predictably lashed out.
Cena, presenting the award for Best Costume Design, shocked the audience as he walked onto the stage sans clothing, appearing to wear only a pair of sandals. The intention behind the segment was to celebrate the "craziest moment" in Oscars history when David Niven was famously interrupted by a streaker during the 1974 awards.
Cena and host Jimmy Kimmel "bickered" on stage before Cena stepped out, with Cena "hesitant" to go on with the streaking bit because the Oscars are an "elegant event." Kimmel urged him to do it, saying it would be "funny," prompting Cena to declare that the male body "is not a joke" before walking out virtually naked.
You can watch what happened in the video below.
Predictably, conservatives criticized the segment, with influencer Andrew Tate going so far as to describe it as "slavery."
Conspiracy theorist Liz Cronkin claimed "the Hollywood pedophiles, rapists and perverts are certainly getting off on this" by having Cena walk on stage "naked at the Oscars during prime TV that children are most likely watching."
Other conservatives also clutched their pearls over the bit, even referring to it as a "humiliation ritual," suggesting that Cena had only participated so he could weaken society.
Many were quick to mock the latest example of manufactured conservative outrage.
As behind-the-scenes photos show, Cena was actually wearing nude-colored underwear for the skit, which went through "an intense standards and practices process," according to Variety, which noted that Cena's "private parts were strategically covered so as not to run afoul of FCC standards."
The Oscar moment Kimmel and Cena paid tribute to was the infamous "streaking incident" during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974.
Photographer Robert Opel, cleverly posing as a journalist, successfully navigated past security and entered the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the venue for the prestigious event.
During the live broadcast, Opel ran across the stage completely naked, flashing a peace sign. The incident, although seemingly spontaneous, has generated various theories about its origins. Some suggest it might have been a promotional stunt to generate interest in the annual event, although there is no concrete evidence supporting this claim.
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