John Cena had to follow bizarre rules as he appeared 'naked' on stage at Oscars

Unless you've been living under a rock in recent days, you'll have heard about that John Cena skit at the Oscars.

The WWE star and actor rocked up naked to Sunday night's award ceremony in a nod to when Robert Opel ran across the stage at the 1974 Oscars.

He sheepishly shuffled across the stage with nothing but a large envelope covering his private parts and went on to announce this year's winner of Best Costume Design - which went to Poor Things.

As you can expect, it took some convincing for Cena to be allowed to do the risqué bit; with Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel having to try to persuade the network to allow it.

"They kept demanding that we make the envelope bigger and bigger, but first of all I have to say congratulations, John Cena," he said on last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live! (March 11).

"Very rarely does an idea literally push the envelope."

In light of the pushback they received from ABC (who merged with Disney in 1996), an Oscars producer has revealed all the rules they and Cena in particular had to follow to get the greenlight.

They also wanted to prevent any chances of getting a fine from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

ABC

Rob Mills, the exec VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, told Variety: "There was a lot of reticence of not just a fine from the FCC, but potential complaints."

"I’m going to educate you a little here," he went on. "A bulge cannot be showing, and you can’t show crack. It was also, 'What happens if he drops that card?’ So, we made sure that, for all intents and purposes, he looked like a Ken doll up front.

"His crack was covered in the back and then the envelope was Velcro-ed on there so it wouldn’t fall. But beyond that, he was naked."

Bryan Steffy/Variety via Getty Images

It's not very often that the FFC issues nudity fines, but the governing body can impose fines of $325,000 on each station that airs indecent material, including images and words, between 6.00am and 10.00pm.

Previously ABC was hit with an eye-watering $1.4 million in fines in 2003 after an NYPD Blue episode showed a woman's bare bottom.

As of last year, it was ruled that the FFC can fine a maximum of $2,372,677 for a single act or failure to act - and no one wants to be footing that bill.

Here are some of the winners from the Oscars:

Best director

Anatomy of a Fall - Justine Triet

Killers of the Flower Moon - Martin Scorsese

Oppenheimer - Christopher Nolan - WINNER

Poor Things - Yorgos Lanthimos

The Zone of Interest - Jonathan Glazer

Best actor

Bradley Cooper - Maestro

Colman Domingo - Rustin

Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer - WINNER

Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction

Best actress

Annette Bening - Nyad

Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan - Maestro

Emma Stone - Poor Things - WINNER

Best picture

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer - WINNER

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

Best supporting actress

Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple

America Ferrera - Barbie

Jodie Foster - Nyad

Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers - WINNER

Topics: Oscars, John Cena, Disney, Celebrity

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

@niamhshackleton