SZA Fought for Ben Stiller in ‘Drive’ Music Video & Not John Cena

Imagine having to choose between John Cena and Ben Stiller for your music video—tough call, right? Well, not for SZA. She knew exactly who she wanted, and she wasn’t about to back down.

Last year, when SZA dropped the video for her song “Drive,” she was over the moon to have Ben Stiller behind the wheel—literally. But fun fact: that spot almost went to WWE legend and actor John Cena… until SZA stepped in.

While chatting with Stiller on the Severance podcast, SZA couldn’t help but gush about how thrilled she was to work with him—and how close she came to losing him.

“I can’t thank you enough. I can’t even believe you said yes,” she said. “Full transparency, right – they tried to get me to concede to John Cena and I was like, ‘No.’”

She added, “I love John Cena. Shoutout to fine ass John Cena. I was like, ‘No, I need my Ben, please.’ I can’t even believe you said yes. They were like, ‘No, no, no, it’s too far-fetched, it’s never gonna happen.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, well, I can’t see it any other way.’”

In the music video, Stiller’s driving a car late at night, lip-syncing to “Drive” as the lyrics hit him hard—so hard that he closes his eyes and swerves into another lane.

If the scene feels a little familiar, it’s probably because it throws it back to Stiller’s 2003 performance in Jack Johnson’s “Taylor,” where he also lip-synced his heart out. That throwback was exactly why SZA was set on having Stiller in her corner, not Cena.

Their friendship actually started thanks to SZA’s obsession with Severance, the moody, mind-bending series Stiller co-directs. She tweeted about her excitement for Season 2, saying: “Was tryna be polite but I really need a new season of severance right the f--- now.”

To which Stiller coolly replied:“Ok ok got it.”

Well, she got her wish! Season 2 just wrapped last month—and fittingly, her podcast appearance brought the whole thing full circle.