Actor John Cena Donates $500,000 to Support California Firefighters Battling Historic Blazes

Getty Images | Matthew Simmons

No one would ever doubt John Cena’s toughness. This professional wrestler and workout guru has now become a big actor, and his newest film “Playing With Fire” will be hitting theaters on Nov. 8, 2019. But Cena’s toughness is only matched by his generosity; and he’s helping to put out more fires, only in real life, by supporting first responders battling a slew of devastating wildfires across the state of California.

As blazes burn in the iconic Sonoma county wine country and near the world-class Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Cena took to Twitter with a pledge to donate $500,000 to first responders involved in fighting the fires:

“California is in dire straits. It is burning. It is under siege from massive wildfires state-wide,” he said in a video.

He asked Paramount Pictures, the producers of “Playing With Fire,” to select two charities to direct the money to.

Cena noted, “Our first responders are working around the clock and they need our help.” His incredibly generous donation will go to help two organizations the studio chose, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the California Fire Foundation, non-profit organizations that help raise money and provide resources for the many volunteer departments across the state.

In John Cena’s new comedy “Playing With Fire,” he acts alongside Keegan-Michael Key and John Leguizamo as three firefighters from an elite unit of “smoke jumpers” that happen to rescue three siblings whose parents are missing from a burning house. The firefighters take the kids back to their depot and they become a motley family. As the tough-guy firefighters encounter the unruly kids, hilarity ensues. As Cena described it in his tweet, “It’s a wonderful comedy I think the whole family will enjoy, and it showcases a group of people that I believe are heroes—first responders.”

Realizing that his film about firefighters would be coming to cinemas as the real-life heroes would be trying to contain the fires, Cena says, “I asked myself what I could do.” That’s when he came up with the idea of Paramount choosing a charity that aids first responders and making a donation to it, “on behalf of ‘Playing With Fire.’” Cena believes that what first responders need most in the situation is resources. “I wish everyone the best of luck. Please stay safe, and you are our heroes.” he added.

Within half an hour of Cena’s challenge, Paramount responded with their two choices: the LAFD Foundation and the CA Fire Foundation, and thanked Cena for his “generosity & dedication to our first responders.”

The gesture was appreciated by both organizations, which are tirelessly working to get the fires contained. As a wife of a first responder fighting the blazes tweeted in response:

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! Being a #LAFD wife is stressful and to know they have the best equipment and training is HUGE!! Thank you BIG TIME!!!!"”

The real fire-fighting heroes have been combating an unprecedented series of wildfires that have struck across the state, as hot, dry, and windy weather conditions have made them very difficult to contain. Fires have threatened treasured institutions, such as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Firefighters noted the contribution of several hundred goats, which had been grazing around the library since spring keeping the vegetation down, along with the museum’s parking lot, which helped create a fire break.

The state’s notorious Santa Ana winds, which originate in inland areas and funnel down the mountains to the coast, have been making containment incredibly difficult. As the LA Times noted for the week of Halloween, “[w]ind gusts are expected to be 40 to 60 mph, with isolated gusts up to 70 mph. Humidity readings will hover in the single digits—as low as 1% to 2% in some spots.” Another challenge has been the wide distribution of the fires, with areas ablaze from north of San Francisco all the way south past Los Angeles, a distance of over 500 miles.

Meanwhile, the broken jumper cable that is believed to have started the Kincade fire has led to over 2 million Californians across 32 counties across Northern and Central California being without power, even as temperatures have dipped to lows far below the seasonal average. Blackouts have affected cellphone service, making it difficult for people to track evacuation orders and know when it’s safe to return home.

As for Cena, the chance to play a first responder on the big screen was a great opportunity to bring attention to a cause that’s near and dear to his heart. His brother Dan has been a police officer for over 20 years, and this has given the wrestler and actor an inside view of their work. As he told Good Housekeeping, “What sets first responders apart is that an ordinary day of work can include willingly facing down danger.”

For November, Cena paired up with the lifestyle magazine to put out a call for readers to nominate a “hero of the year” from their communities. Firefighter Lori Byrd, from Jacksonville, Florida, was selected and appears on the cover with Cena. He told Good Housekeeping, “[She] impressed me not just with her bravery, but with her perseverance and determination to help carve the path for the next class of female firefighters.”

When Cena calls people like Byrd heroes, he means it. As observed from Cena’s own brother over the years, he noted that police, firefighters, and paramedics get in “some pretty hairy situations and emergencies to which I will never be able to relate.”

With the big donation, Cena hopes to thank them and encourage more Californians to do the same.