has addressed the allegations against his former boss and ‘friend’ Vince McMahon.
The wrestling legend turned Hollywood star has been vocal in the past about the bond he shares with the WWE founder, who made him a star following his debut back in 2002.
Last month, McMahon stepped down as executive chairman of WWE’s parent company TKO following allegations of, which he has denied.
The 78-year-old billionaire is under investigation by federal authorities, but told the that won’t find wrongdoing.
Cena, 46, appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, and was asked about the allegations.
‘I don’t think it’s complicated to talk about. It’s complicated to listen to. That’s why I don’t necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it. There’s still a long way to go,’ he said.
‘I can say this, I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty, and communication, in the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability.
‘If someone’s behavior lies so far outside of your value system that the balance shifts of, “I can’t operate in a world where this works.” That’s the end result of being accountable.
‘Right now, I’m gonna love the person I love, be their friend. “I love you, you have a hill to climb.” There is the saying of, “You don’t know who your friends are until s**t hits the fan or your back is against the wall.”
‘That doesn’t make any of what’s going on any easier to swallow. Just telling someone you love them, it’s a hill to climb, and we’ll see what happens. That’s that.’
The Argylle actor described the situation as ‘one day at a time’, noting he has ‘openly’ said that he ‘loves’ McMahon, adding that he has ‘a great relationship with the guy’.
‘It’s largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement,’ he continued.
‘The whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience that I have. Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say, “How can I help?” ‘
News of the lawsuit came after onto its board of directors, as well as announcing a as the new home of Raw, as well as WWE as a whole outside the United States, starting in January 2025.
Asked if there were any concerns about McMahon during the streaming platform’s Next on Netflix press event on Thursday, the company’s content chief Bela Bajaria said: ‘He’s gone. So he’s not there. He’s gone.’
On the subject of WWE joining its roster of programming, Brandon Riegg, VP of nonfiction, added: ‘The truth is we don’t know how much bigger it can get. I think we’re all really bullish on it, but we know that has an incredibly consistent audience for the last several decades.’
Denying the accusations, McMahon said in a previous statement: ‘I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.’
