John Cena has revealed that he got into ‘a few fights’ at school when defending his older gay brother.
It seems that even from a young age, Cena was a stand-up guy.
Speaking in an interview on Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Expert podcast, the star spoke about how his elder brother, Stephen, had faced homophobic bullying at high school.
And because of that, he had often stood up for his elder brother, causing him to ‘lose a few fights’ at school.
Calling his brother ‘an introvert’ and a ‘true nerd’, he spoke about how ‘tough’ it was for him growing up in a ‘small town’.
“He just had a lot of character traits that weren’t in the ‘cool kid’ growl, and he’s also holding this secret that he can’t tell or talk to anybody about.”
The wrestler added: “I really feel for what it must have been like for him growing up, but I also inherited that chapter of his social constructs.”
Now, it would be assumed that it’s the older brother that usually comes to the rescue of their younger sibling – which Shepherd also brought up, asking if he felt it had been some sort of ‘role reversal’.
John Cena opened up about protecting his brother at school. (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
Cena replied: “I don’t think I understood what was going on. Kids are harsh. They form cliques real fast, and we always just hung out with each other.
“There was enough of us to have a basketball team, which means we could do whatever we want.
“We want to play football or baseball, there’s enough of us. So we didn’t feel [that] we needed anybody else.”
He also said that kids also picked on him too, adding: “I got made fun of for the way I dressed, the music I listened to, the people I associated with, my older brother.”
So between the ages of ten to 12 when Cena began to enter other ‘social circles’, he wanted to stand up to the bullies.
Cena said that his older brother faced bullying over his sexuality. (Steve Eichner/Variety via Getty Images)
“I took on the role of, ‘Hey, if you say something to the younger brothers, I will do my best to throw myself in harm’s way.” he said.
“It’s going to stop here.”
Cena has also consistently used his platform to support the LGBTQ+ community.
This included in an advert for Independence Day in 2016, which saw Cena partner with movement Love Has No Labels.
In the advert, The Suicide Squad star said: “Almost half the country belongs to minority groups – people who are lesbian, African-American, and bi, and transgender, and native American, and proud of it.
“What’s more American than the freedom to celebrate the things that make us, us?”
