John Cena Admits That Online 'Bullying' Led Him To Get Hair Transplant Surgery In New Podcast Interview
On Monday, April 21st, the professional wrestler appeared on a new episode of Pat McAfee's popular podcast, The Pat McAfee Show. He discussed several recent topics pertaining to his life, including his wrestling career, but something that stood out the most from his conversation with the podcast host was his recent hair transplant.
If you've seen some newer photos of the actor and noticed his hair looked a little thicker or fuller, there's a reason why. He told Pat that fans of his and other internet users were bombarding him with mean comments regarding his thinning hair over the years and that they pushed him to do something about it.
"You chant, and you make me feel small, and you embarrass me," said John, addressing his online trolls during the podcast.
"Y'all don't know what that's like. That is straight-up bullying. That's just not cool. I don't like it."
The 48-year-old noted that he became more aware of his thinning hair and balding after a WWE championship in Las Vegas, and being able to see what people were teasing him for pushed him to bite the bullet and go in for hair transplant surgery last November.
"You guys ripped me to shreds for a genetic problem that I can't control," he admitted on the podcast.
He added that "hopefully, in a couple of months," his hair will look even better, and he can feel more confident about standing up to his online bullies.
"I'm still waiting for it to get better," he said.
Fans React To John's Hair Transplant Reveal On Social Media
After the podcast episode aired, thousands of internet users flooded the comments section on the podcast's YouTube channel, praising the WWE icon for his honesty and echoing the message that he should be free to do whatever he wants to his body to make himself feel better.
"At least Cena has a good sense of humor about it," commented a fan, with another adding, "There's no shame in losing hair."
"Good for him," wrote a YouTube user.
"Who cares what people think? It looks like it's coming back in, and [it's] looking good."
The positive messages of support must be different from the ones John was reading before his surgery, as he mentioned that the way people were treating him and nagging him about his hair was "not fair."
"I got a problem; I try to fix it," he added. "That's what I'm doing."