Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins all condemned the actions of disgraced former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon following a disturbing series of sexual abuse allegations. John Cena, however, had a very different take during a recent interview with Howard Stern.
It's no secret that he's close friends with his old boss; after McMahon's forced retirement, Cena was photographed alongside Vince and a much younger woman, suggesting he'd chosen to stand by his pal regardless of the negative press.
However, even after this latest round of claims, Cena isn't willing to speak out against Vince. In fact, it seems his opinion of the man alleged to have emotionally, mentally, and physically abused a young woman is unchanged.
"I don't think it's complicated to talk about," Cena said of the situation. "I think it's complicated to listen to. That's kind of why I don't necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it...I can say this, I'm a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty, and communication. But 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, what I'm gonna do is love the person I love, be their friend," he continued. "There's the saying, '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. But just telling somebody 'Hey, I love you. Man, this is going to be a hill to climb, we're going to see what happens.'"
"It sounds so cliche, but it has to be one day at a time. At the same token, I've openly said I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy...so that's that."
Cena, who was careful not to ever really directly address the allegations amid the babble above went on to share his thoughts on how the "super unfortunate" situation has affected WWE and added, "Not only do I tell my friend I love them, but I also switch to the entity and say 'How can I help?'"
Well, at least Triple H no longer had the worst response to this whole thing. This isn't a good look for Cena and depending on what else comes out in the weeks and months ahead, this apparent defence could come back to haunt him.