Inside John Cena’s Memorable Oscars Stunt, Jimmy Kimmel Discloses the Chaos Behind the Scenes

The 96th Academy Awards witnessed a moment that sent shockwaves through Hollywood and left audiences buzzing. John Cena, famous for his charismatic presence in the wrestling ring, made headlines with a daring stunt that almost didn’t happen. Jimmy Kimmel, returning to his late-night show after hosting the Oscars, spilled the beans about Cena’s naked Oscars stunt that had everyone talking.

Kimmel, popular for his wit and humor, didn’t hold back in recalling the chaos and scrutiny that surrounded the decision to greenlight Cena's unconventional appearance. The stunt paid homage to a historic incident at the Oscars in 1974, adding a modern twist to the star-studded event. Kimmel shared, "Getting this on the air…of all the times I've hosted the Oscars or the Emmys or anything, no comedy bit has ever received more scrutiny than this."

As per Hello! Magazine, Kimmel revealed that getting the stunt approved, was an arduous task. He shared, "There were meetings and site meetings, emails and texts and phone calls and people sweating. Somebody was crying. Then once they realized we weren't going to take no for an answer…there was intense discussion about the envelope." The production team evaluated every possible outcome to ensure that Cena’s naked appearance was performed tastefully and without any wardrobe malfunctions.

Robb Mills,  the executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television shared, "I'm going to educate you a little here. A bulge cannot be showing, and you can't show a crack. It was also, 'What happens if he drops that card? So, we made sure that, for all intents and purposes, he looked like a Ken doll up front. His crack was covered in the back and then the envelope was Velcro-ed on there so it wouldn't fall. But beyond that, he was naked."

The producers also opted to go for a larger envelope to provide maximum coverage. Despite the initial struggles and challenges, Cena’s daring act was successful. Kimmel, happy with the outcome, remarked, "I'd say congratulations, John Cena. The commotion you caused. Very rarely does an idea literally push the envelope and this one did."

As per The Guardian, Kimmel also pulled a stunt of his own. Taking a dig at former President Donald Trump’s criticism of his hosting, Kimmel quipped, “It kind of tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump…He wrote this because he was upset I didn’t mention him on the show. No one mentioned him on the show. He wasn’t getting any attention, he couldn’t stand it…I wasn’t planning to mention him at all. We were backstage, the show was almost over and one of the other writers was like, ‘Hey look at this.’ And to quote Al Pacino, just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. I had to read it…We had John Cena onstage naked and somehow Trump still managed to be the biggest d*ck of the night.”