Michael Cera was sent flying after Rihanna slapped him 'hard' round the face

Michael Cera has recalled the time he was slapped across the face ‘hard’ by Rihanna, admitting that she sent him ‘flying’.

The actor starred alongside the singer in Evan Goldberg’s 2013 comedy flick This Is The End, which centers on a group of celebrities who end up stuck in James Franco’s house after Los Angeles is hit by a series of disasters. You can see the scene here:

Cera and Rihanna both play fictionalized versions of themselves and in one scene, Cera’s character… erm, Cera slaps Rihanna across the butt who responds by spinning around and slapping him right across the face.

If you’re now watching the clip and thinking ‘that looked like it hurt’ then you’re not wrong, because Cera has revealed that the slap was not fake, meaning he felt the full force of it.

In a recent interview with GQ, he said: “She definitely hit me. But really, I wanted that. I think it’s a lot funnier and a lot more convincing. A fake slap just doesn’t look good, so she hit me hard.

“Yeah, she really sent me flying, and it was great. And now it’s on film forever, this pain that I experienced.”

Sony Pictures

The Barbie star has previously revealed that the wallop from Rihanna left him feeling ‘disoriented’, but that he really only had himself to blame.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Cera said that he thought the slap ‘would look a lot better’ if she actually landed it for real.

“I thought it would look a lot better if she hit me,” he revealed.

“I don’t think it took much convincing to get her to do it. I just thought it would look a lot better than a fake slap would because you can really feel it. It just looks a lot funnier!”

Sony Pictures

He added: “I definitely did not regret it! I was into it. The take that is in the movie, she really did hit my ear, which was disorienting.

“But I have no regrets. I didn’t lose any hearing over it, fortunately!”

This Is The End co-director and star Seth Rogen has also revealed that the slap wasn’t a one take and done - far from it.

Rogen said: “She really slapped the s**t out of him like six times, and eventually he said, ‘I can’t do this anymore’.”

Cera added: “It was effective. She didn’t hold back.”

Sometimes you just have to suffer for your art, right?

Topics: Film and TV, Rihanna

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.