John Cena and Randy Orton have addressed the sexual assault and trafficking allegations levied against Vince McMahon.
Cena and Orton are among the most decorated superstars from WWE’s “Ruthless Aggression” (2002-2008) era. The two have won a combined 30 world championships in the WWE under McMahon’s leadership. Cena recently addressed his friendship with McMahon on “The Howard Stern Show” after McMahon resigned from WWE and TKO Group Holdings amid a lawsuit and reported federal investigation.
“I don’t think it’s complicated to talk about. It’s complicated to listen to,” Cena told Stern. “That’s why I don’t necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it. There’s still a long way to go. I can say this, I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty, and communication, 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.”
Cena said he will remain a support system for McMahon for now. The wrestler turned actor described the allegations against McMahon as “super fortunate.”
“Right now, I’m gonna love the person I love, be their friend. ‘I love you, you have a hill to climb.’ There is the saying of, ‘You don’t know who your friends are until shit hits the fan or your back is against the wall.’ That doesn’t make any of what’s going on any easier to swallow. Just telling someone you love them, it’s a hill to climb, and we’ll see what happens.’ That’s that. It sounds so cliche, but it has to be one day at a time.
“I’ve openly said, I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy, and that’s that. It’s largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement. The whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience that I have,” said Cena. “Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say, ‘How can I help?'”
Orton discussed the McMahon allegations in a separate interview. Orton acknowledged how McMahon shaped his career but was candid about how terrible the allegations were.
“I’ve got to say this: I wouldn’t be where I am without Vince McMahon taking a chance on me a handful of times. I would not be where I am today without Vince McMahon,” Orton told Sports Illustrated. But, f—, I’m reading this shit. What you’ve seen and read, I’ve seen and read. As far as commenting on that, it f—ing hurts my heart. It hurts my heart.”
