How do you win the Oscars without winning an Oscar? Wrestler-turned-actor and all-round legend John Cena did just that at the 96th Academy Awards simply by going clothes-free. John Cena, who had a hilarious cameo as Merman Ken, followed up with an even funnier appearance as a presenter at the Oscars, highlighting the importance of costumes in films by opting to wear none on stage while presenting the Best Costume Design award. The skit, in which Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel played a strictly supporting role, went instantly viral. Here's how it went down.
It began with Jimmy Kimmel referencing the streaker at the 1974 Oscars who ran onto stage disrupting presenter David Niven. A pause later, John Cena poked his head out from the wings, claiming he'd changed his mind about recreating the incident. “You're the worst,” grumbled Jimmy Kimmel before handing over the winner's name envelope for the hapless John to use.
John Cena sidled out of the wings and to the presenter's microphone while using the envelope as best he could as the audience, in the Dolby Theatre where the Oscars are held and out of it, fell about laughing.
Having brought the house down, John Cena walked off stage - but did the actor-wrestler go on wearing nothing? These backstage pictures from the award show reveal (pun intended) that he was actually wearing a modesty pouch of the sort that are used in filming intimate scenes for screen.
