Former WWE wrestling champion and actor John Cena opened up about defending his older gay brother from bullies while growing up in his hometown of West Newbury, Massachusetts.
Cena is the second oldest of five brothers: Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. His brother Steve, who is now 50, is gay.
On an episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, the Argylle actor, 46, talked about the hardships Steve endured.
He recalled of Steve's struggles as a teen:
“Life was tough for my brother in high school. Not only was he an introvert and interested in computers, he’s also gay."
"And being gay in the '80s in a small town in Massachusetts, man, that’s an uphill climb."
Steve was not out of the closet in high school, but he was constantly teased for being a "true nerd."
“He just had a lot of character traits that weren’t in the ‘cool kid’ group, and he’s also holding this secret that he can’t tell or talk to anybody about,” said Cena.
“I really feel for what it must have been like for him growing up."
You can listen to the podcast, here.
Even though Steve is a few years older than he is, the actor said he had the instinct to protect him.
“That sort of behavior started, like, at 10 years old for me,” he recalled.
“I don’t think I understood what was going on. Kids are harsh and they form cliques real fast.”
When Cena was around 10 or 12, he entered other "social circles" after playing various sports with his siblings in their far-removed neighborhood for most of their childhood.
He explained:
"We always just hung out with each other. There was enough of us to have a basketball team, which means we could do whatever we want."
"We want to play football or baseball, there’s enough of us. So we didn’t feel we needed anybody else."
"If we could make it through school and get back to the house, all is fine."
Even as his friendships evolved, he never lost his loyalty to his brothers.
“I took on the role of, ‘Hey, if you say something to the younger brothers, I will do my best to throw myself in harm’s way," he said.
But that didn't mean he was immune to being bullied.
Cena recalled:
“I got made fun of for the way I dressed, the music I listened to, the people I associated with, my older brother."
After being teased and "getting my a** kicked" in school, Cena asked for a weightlifting bench when he was 12, setting his body transformation and confidence in motion.
By age 15, he was physically bigger than the bullies who tormented him thanks to "constant strength training and eating right."
He recalled an incident in which he faced one of his tormentors but made a decision that changed everything.
“I walked into physical education class with now seniors who were pushing me down the hill."
“I remember specifically one kid who literally spearheaded the anti-John movement in junior high, I closed my locker door and he’s next to me and we were looking at each other like, ‘Is it gonna go down?’”
Instead of giving in to intimidation, Cena tried a different tactic.
“And for some reason—at 15—I summoned up the situational awareness to be like, ‘Hey man, we’re good, don’t worry about it.’"
“And that was it. Not only did he never pick on me again, I never really got effed with again in high school.”
Cena was regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time with his record as a 16-time world champion.
He held the WWE Championship a record 13 times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times.
Cena is also known for his acting career, which includes appearances in films like Trainwreck (2015) and the Fast & Furious franchise playing Jakob Toretto.
He is currently featured in the Peter Farrelly comedy film as the titular character in Ricky Stanicky, starring opposite Zac Efron.
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