Jonathan Bailey Is the Sexiest Man Alive - But Who Cares?

Jonathan Bailey, yes, that Jonathan Bailey from Bridgerton and soon Wicked: For Good, has been crowned People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2025. He's handsome, charming, and objectively talented, but honestly, does anyone still care about this? Once upon a time, this annual declaration was an event. Your mom would buy the magazine, coworkers would debate Brad Pitt vs. Clooney, and every talk show would turn it into a flirty game of "who's your pick?" But in 2025, the whole thing feels like a pop culture artifact from when we all watched the same TV shows and still used the word "hunk" without any irony.

Don't get me wrong - Bailey is a great choice. He's funny, magnetic, and actually knows how to make people swoon without relying on TikTok slow-mo edits or "I accidentally dropped my towel" Instagram content. He's also the first openly gay actor to receive the title, which is actually kind of a big deal. Representation matters, even in fluff pieces about symmetrical jawlines. But the idea that there can be one "sexiest man alive" in a world run by algorithms, fan cams, and parasocial relationships is just adorable, somewhere between outdated and charmingly delusional.

The truth is, we live in an age of infinite hotness. Everyone has their own niche now. Pedro Pascal is "internet daddy." Glen Powell is "chaotic hot." Timothée Chalamet is "emo hot." Meanwhile, a guy with 200 followers and good lighting can go viral for making avocado toast in slow motion. There's no consensus anymore, just infinite categories of lust. People choosing one man to represent global attraction feels like naming a single raindrop the wettest.

Still, I'll give them this: Bailey gets it. He called the whole thing "completely absurd" and said he only told his dog, Benson. That level of self-awareness is, ironically, kind of sexy. Maybe that's the real appeal, not the photoshoot or the PR headlines, but the fact that he's laughing at it with the rest of us. .