The actor and WWE star have been very vocal about his love for K-pop boyband BTS for a few years now, sharing images and screenshots of the band and himself listening to their music in his social media.
BTS worldwide fanbase, the Army has welcomed Cena with open arms.
Cena first implied his love for BTS in February 2018, when he posted a picture of J-Hope to his Instagram page. The post was the first of many to come, and the BTS Army came to realize that he didn’t just like their music, he also shared in their message of self-love and positivity.
In The Tonight’s Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Cena discussed how he got into K-pop.
“So when I started to look at BTS, I listened to their music, and I was immediately drawn because there are rappers in that crew and they use – on some of their intro tracks and bookend tracks, they use sick ass boom-bap beats and they actually rap,” he said.point 390 |
“And I was like, this is great.point 27 | I got interested in their music, and then I got interested in what the music stood for.point 98 | They advocate self-love, they advocate don’t be afraid of failure, they advocate that you are enough, they are trying to shatter all the stereotypical difficulties and uncomfortable situations that we go through.point 281 |
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“And they’re catering to an audience that is living that, young people. That’s why they’re so popular around the world, one – they’re great performers, but the message they send resonates with the people,” Cena added.
The WWE star is yet to meet BTS’s seven band members, but when he learned that the band was keen to meet him he admitted he was ‘floored’. Cena went on to praise the Army, explaining they weren’t just ‘geeked out fans’, but people who are willing to follow in the footsteps of BTS’s good deeds.
“BTS donated a million bucks to Black Lives Matter and Army was like, if they can do it, we can do it. Fans who are already coming out of their pocket to support artists came out of their pocket more for charity,” Cena said. “And it’s not the first time that they’ve done this. This BTS Army charity gives a bunch to philanthropic causes.”
“So as an artist, as a performer, hell man we have fun. We do good stuff. But if we can resonate through the television to you at home, to come out of your pocket to give to a cause – that’s work and that’s purpose. That’s f*cking changing the world.”
The actor stressed that even if people are not a fan of K-pop, there’s no denying that how the BTS ‘conduct themselves as human beings’ and the ‘message they send to the world’ is ‘something special’.
Cena has joked in the past about being the BTS’ bodyguard, so it’s clear he’s willing to protect them at all costs. Maybe one day they’ll finally be introduced and he can share his praises in person.