Apparently, John Cena‘s nude moment at the 2024 Oscars was a huge deal behind the scenes. Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel and several show producers are speaking out about how difficult it was to pull off the stripping stunt. During the show, John, 46, shyly came out from backstage using the envelope for Best Costume Design to cover up his midsection.
After Jimmy, 56, closed out the awards ceremony on Sunday, March 10, he explained to his audience during a subsequent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! what went down leading up to John’s big moment.
” 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,” the comedian pointed out before detailing the chaos that ensured backstage. “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.”
Jimmy concluded by congratulating John for the “commotion” he “caused,” adding, “Very rarely does an idea literally push the envelope and this one did.”
Producers of the Oscars affirmed Jimmy’s comments during an interview with Variety. Rob Mills explained that there “was a lot of reticence of not just a fine from the FCC, but potential complaints.” The S&P team for the ceremony told producers that, from the audience’s perspective, it had to be completely obvious that John was not actually nude. However, the team was able to find a way around this regulation.
Rob went on to explain that with live nudity, “a bulge cannot be showing, and you can’t show crack.”
“So, we made sure that, for all intents and purposes, he looked like a Ken doll up front,” Rob added. 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.”
Producer Molly McNearney also spoke to the outlet and confirmed that ABC network executives had a tough time accepting a risqué moment like this.
“They were sweating,” Molly recalled. “I think at the end, we all got to a spot where we were comfortable, S&P was comfortable, and it didn’t compromise the comedy a bit. I was very thankful that we didn’t have to send him out there in tighty whities, which I’m sure legal would have preferred.”