Actor John Cena has apologised to China after referring to Taiwan as a country in a promotional interview for Fast and Furious 9.
His apology came after speaking to Taiwanese television TVBS earlier this month, where the 44-year-old said Taiwan would be the first “country” to see the latest movie.
But China regards Taiwan as its province, an assertion that most on the self-ruled, democratic island rejects.
“I made one mistake. I am very, very sorry for this mistake,” Cena said in Mandarin in a video posted on his account on Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog popular in China.
“I love and respect China and the Chinese people,” he added.
Cena is not the first to make this mistake. Companies have also come under fire in the past, with several airlines and hotels apologising to China in recent years for listing Taiwan as a country on their booking websites.
Fast & Furious films - In pictures
But his apology was not met with enthusiasm from some Chinese nationals and one person urged that he “use Mandarin to say Taiwan is part of China. Otherwise we won’t accept the apology.”
His video did not go down well in the United States either.
Matt Karolian, manager of American news website Boston.com, tweeted: “Can someone please help John Cena locate his spine, please?”
Former US. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “On your bowing to the Chinese Communist Party... I don’t see you.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment, reported Reuters.
