The sixth episode of the Apple TV+ series Pluribus delivers one of the strangest moments on television this year. In the episode titled HDP, wrestling superstar and actor John Cena appears on screen not for an action scene, but to deliver a calm, polished video presentation. His mission? To explain to the show’s main character, Carol, why the alien hivemind now consuming Earth’s population must resort to cannibalism to survive.
This is not a typical fun celebrity cameo. Cena is playing a version of himself that has been absorbed into “The Others,” the show’s name for the collective consciousness that has taken over nearly all of humanity. His familiar, friendly face is used to deliver deeply unsettling news, forcing both the characters and the audience to confront how trust and celebrity are manipulated.
The Shocking PSA in Episode Six
In Pluribus, Carol Sturka, a misanthropic author played by Rhea Seehorn, is one of the last humans immune to an alien virus. This virus has merged almost everyone on Earth into a single, peaceful, and obliging hive mind. While investigating, Carol discovers a horrifying secret: The Others are drinking a milk-like substance made from processed human remains.
She drives to Las Vegas to warn another immune survivor, Koumba Diabaté, played by Samba Schutte. To her shock, he already knows. He even has a ready-made explanation. Koumba plays a video for Carol featuring John Cena. In the video, Cena, speaking for The Others, politely breaks down their dietary crisis.
Cena explains that The Others have a strict rule against harming any life. They cannot kill animals or even pick fruit from a tree. With billions to feed, they face starvation. Their solution is to use what they call HDP, or “Human-Derived Protein,” sourced from those who died during the initial global “Joining” event and from people who continue to die naturally every day.
“Given our druthers, would we choose to consume HDP? No,” Cena says in the video. “Throughout history, most cultures, though not all, have taken a dim view of anthropophagy. Honestly, we’re not that keen on it ourselves. But we’re left with little choice.”
The presentation is clean, rational, and delivered with Cena’s trademark calm and trustworthy demeanor. This makes the grim subject matter even more disturbing.
Why the Show’s Creators Chose John Cena
The decision to cast John Cena was very specific. Executive producer Gordon Smith explained the choice was about finding the right balance of traits to sell the unsettling message.
“John Cena was the right balance of friendly, famous and trustworthy — and we also just thought it’d be fun to watch him say all that creepy stuff,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter.
The show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, is known for his careful casting on shows like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. For Pluribus, the goal was to find a recognizable figure who could deliver a monstrous concept in a way that felt strangely palatable. Cena’s extensive history as a public spokesperson and his widely recognized image of positive enthusiasm made him the perfect fit.
Actor Samba Schutte, who plays Koumba, recalled filming the reaction shots to Cena’s monologue before Cena himself was filmed. At the time, Gilligan stood off-camera and read the lines in his own voice.
“Rhea and I had to react to Vince saying, ‘We’re cannibals, but we have to be,’” Schutte said, laughing. “But to know that it was eventually going to be John Cena was so perfect. Who better than John Cena to break down why they’re cannibals and make sense of it?”
More Than a Cameo: A Commentary on Celebrity and Control
Cena’s appearance is a key moment that highlights the show’s deeper themes. Pluribus constantly questions whether a world without conflict, jealousy, or individuality is actually a utopia or a loss of what makes us human. The use of a celebrity spokesperson underlines this conflict.
The Others understand human psychology. They know people are conditioned to listen to familiar, non-threatening faces. By using John Cena—a celebrity who has sold everything from action figures to insurance—they are employing the same tools of persuasion and marketing that exist in our world today. They claim to want humans to live freely, yet they use sophisticated celebrity culture as a tool for pacification and control.
The scene feels unsettling because something essential is missing from Cena. As one analysis noted, “Where is the charisma? Where is the spark that made Cena a star? Gone. Replaced by the same pleasant emptiness every Other displays.” He becomes a friendly automaton delivering corporate talking points, showing the cost of assimilation into the hive mind.
This mirrors an earlier moment in the series where The Others use the likeness of a character’s mother to emotionally influence him. They claim benevolence but repeatedly engage in strategic manipulation.
How Fans and Critics Are Reacting
The surprise cameo has become a major talking point for viewers of the show. Many were caught completely off guard by Cena’s sudden appearance in the serious, moody sci-fi drama.
Critics have praised the choice as a brilliant piece of world-building. By using a real celebrity, the show blurs the line between its fictional reality and our own, making the setting more jarring and believable. It also serves as a darkly humorous meta-commentary on Cena’s own career as a ubiquitous and always-positive spokesperson.
The cameo also raises fun questions about the world of Pluribus. If John Cena survived the Joining, what other celebrities might still be around as part of the hive mind? This opens the door for future surprise appearances.
For the remaining human characters, the video has a major impact. Carol is horrified by the content and frustrated that Koumba finds the explanation reasonable. Koumba, however, is convinced, even noting, “I must say John Cena makes a fairly reasonable case. In French, he’s even more convincing”. This divide highlights the central conflict between those who accept the new world and those, like Carol, who resist it at all costs.
The episode ends with an even darker revelation from Koumba: even with the HDP solution, the vast population of The Others will still face starvation in about ten years. The crisis is far from over.
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