Are We Positive John Krasinski Is the Sexiest Man Alive?
ByEmily Leibert,
a morning blogger for the Cutwho specializes in coverage at the intersection of gender and sports, the arts, and our relationship to our bodies
Photo: John Nacion/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
It looks like People’spick for Sexiest Man Alive is shaping up to be about as polarizing as the country’s new president-elect. On Tuesday night, the magazine announced its much-anticipated annual titleholder, the man supposedly most thirsted after by the American people. Rumors heavily favored Hollywood’s new golden boy Glen Powell or the sword-bearing Gladiator Paul Mescal. Instead, the staff at People, bestowed with the power to satisfy the desires of politically frustrated women everywhere, thought long and hard and decided to go with: Jim Halpert. Indeed, People has named John Krasinski 2024’s Sexiest Man Alive, and The Office actor is as confused about this as half of the internet.
“Just immediate blackout, actually. Zero thoughts,” he told People about the selection. “Other than maybe I’m being punked. That’s not how I wake up, thinking, ‘Is this the day that I’ll be asked to be Sexiest Man Alive?’ And yet it was the day you guys did it. You guys have really raised the bar for me.”
Readers who stayed up until midnight awaiting the reveal of their Very Sexy Man quickly flooded X with posts of bewilderment and, in a few cases, despair. “John krasinski and jim halpert changed the trajectory of my life,” one user wrote. “But one thing about People magazine… they’re gonna make a man SMA in the wrong year every single time.” Others were perfectly fine with the outcome, noting Krasinski is “legitimately sexy.” But the real question isn’t so much if John Krasinski is sexy (he is). It’s if he’s the right sexy man for this particular moment in time.
What I would give to be a fly on the wall in the magazine’s brainstorm. Powell? Too anatomically perfect. Ryan Gosling? He can wait his turn. Pedro Pascal? Aging like fine wine; give him another year or two to ferment. Benny Blanco? Runner-up; put him and his bare feet in the back of the magazine. Yes, Selena Gomez’s personal chef/boyfriend was also given a spread, where he talked about not showering so that “the oils on your skin … have time to rejuvenate and get juicy.” Readers were equally as divided about Blanco’s inclusion: Some were happy to see People attempting to redefine masculinity, while others were moved to rage-post about the cookbook author. I could go without seeing Blanco’s pedicured toes, but that’s just me.
Anyways, congrats to John. (And especially to Emily Blunt.)
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