Jimmy Kimmel Says There Were “Intense Discussions” About The Size Of The Envelope Used In John Cena’s Oscars Streaker Stunt: “No Comedy Bit Has Ever Received More Scrutiny”

Jimmy Kimmel used Monday night’s (March 11) installment of Jimmy Kimmel Live to undress how he got John Cena‘s Oscars streaker bit approved.

During his monologue, he reflected on his fourth go at hosting the awards show, highlighting Ryan Gosling‘s show-stealing “I’m Just Ken” performance, Al Pacino bestowing Oppenheimer with Best Picture, and “hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say the word ‘Godzilla‘” while presenting Best Visual Effects alongside Danny Devito. However, he also gave it up for Cena, whom he recruited to help him honor “the 50th anniversary of the Oscars streaker,”.

While he called the bit “very funny,” he explained that “getting this on the air” was no small feat, per Deadline.

“Of all the times I’ve hosted the Oscars, or the Emmys or anything, no comedy bit has ever received more scrutiny than this,” he revealed. “There were meetings and side meetings. There were emails and texts and phone calls. There were people sweating, like somebody was crying.”

However, Kimmel’s persistence paid off.

“Then once they realized we weren’t going to take no for an answer, there were intense discussions about the size of the envelope and whether we needed to velcro it to John’s body…,” he shared, continuing to joke about the various ideas that were spitballed.

Kimmel eventually pulled out an absurdly large envelope that they wanted them to use, clarifying that “they kept demanding that [they] make the envelope bigger.”

“First of all I have to say, ‘Congratulations, John Cena,'” he quipped. “The commotion you caused. Very rarely does an idea literally push the envelope and this one did.”

He claimed that “the executives were terrified” once the bit began, joking that the control room had the same “level of intensity” as that captured in the 2011 “Situation Room” picture of Barack Obama and the national security team.

“But I want to thank John for being such a good sport and I want to apologize for nearly killing our department of standards and practices last night,” he added.

While Cena wasn’t actually naked during the spoof, the bit still earned the praise of Today co-anchors Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, who claimed that he got “the biggest laugh” of the night during their broadcast on Monday morning.

Kimmel eventually dedicated some time to discuss Donald Trump‘s crass critique of his performance, ultimately joking, “We had John Cena on stage naked and somehow Donald Trump still managed to be the biggest dick of the night.”

Guest Robert De Niro also took shots at the former president on Kimmel’s show Monday night, going so far as to deem him “a malignant narcissist” and a “sociopath.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.