Photos: Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer via Getty Images & Gotham / Contributor via Getty Images
Michael Cera Reminisces About Rihanna Slapping Him In The Face
On Wednesday (Aug. 16), GQ posted a video of Michael Cera breaking down some of the most iconic roles from his career. After his impactful role in the cult classic Superbad, he has gone on to work with some of the industry’s biggest stars like Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and many more.
During a press run for his role in the 2023 movie Barbie, the 35-year-old Hollywood star took the time to discuss one of his career’s most talked about moments, the Rihanna slap from the 2013 film This Is The End. In the movie, Cera slapped the “Umbrella” star on the butt and then received a massive open palm to the face.
Cera was excited to detail how real the slap was during his sitdown with GQ. He passionately exclaimed, “She definitely hit me.” He continued, “But really, I wanted that, you know? I think it’s a lot funnier, more convincing. If anything, a fake slap just doesn’t look good. She hit me hard. She really sent me flying, and it was great. Now it’s on film forever.”
One user on Twitter posted the clip from the movie, stating, “Michael Cera was the MVP of This Is The End.” Another user claimed, “I would add slapped by Rihanna to my resume and put it in bold.”
While the story has always been a topic of conversation, as Rihanna’s profile grows, the story gets that much bigger. A few years ago, Seth Rogen told “Sway In The Morning,” “In the script, Michael Cera slaps Rihanna’s a**, and she doesn’t hit him back in the script, but he asked her, ‘Can I slap your a** for real?’ and she said, ‘You can slap my a** for real if I can slap you back in the face for real.'”
Cera cleared up the story with Rolling Stone, stating, “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!” Cera has been a prominent force in slapstick comedies for over a decade. His new role in Barbie just further solidifies his status as one of the best in his genre. The record-breaking film features “Barbie World” with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice on the official movie soundtrack.