Jonathan Bailey is the Sexiest Man Alive!

On one of their multiple covers for their 2025 Sexiest Man Alive issue, PEOPLE boasts in the lower corner that, “We know, we nailed it”. And they did, they really f-cking did. Which means their editorial team can be as puffy as it wants in this situation. Because this is the best decision the magazine has made in a long, long, loooooong time. 

Jonathan Bailey is definitely not boring, and obviously very, very, VERY f-cking sexy. Jonathan Bailey shirtless with his adorable Benson in his arms? Nuclear sexy. Clear skin, wet hair in the water? Dangerously sexy. 

Wearing pyjamas inviting us to come in the water with him? Our lives are better, thank you PEOPLE Magazine. 

A pause from the lusting, though, to discuss this exhilarating choice. As I mentioned yesterday and in my annual Sexiest Man Alive prediction post which I repeatedly encouraged you to read, one of the factors to consider in anticipation of PEOPLE’s reveal was that this would be the first SMA during the tenure of Charlotte Triggs, the magazine’s new editor-in-chief, appointed back in January. She is PEOPLE’s first millennial EIC and so her taste and cultural experience will shape its editorial. And it would appear that we are seeing the results of that now. 

Jonathan is the first openly queer Sexiest Man Alive in the history of the feature. Which, I know, I know, it’s about time. But at this time? When the administration in power in the United States has been aggressively rolling back 2SLGBTQ+ rights with a clear agenda to promote the marginalisation of queer people at every level of society and industry, for a magazine that caters to the MiniVan Majority to proudly crown a gay British man as the Sexiest Man Alive on the 40th anniversary of the issue is a *choice*. A bold choice, the right choice, and a subversively clever choice. 

It's clever because whatever haters there will be about Jonathan taking the title, the haters already did so much of the work for them. They watched the sh-t out of Bridgerton. And their kids watched the sh-t out of Wicked. A series doesn’t become a hit on Netflix by appealing to only half an audience. And a movie doesn’t top the box office and sell all the merchandise by appealing to that same half of an audience. Jonathan Bailey was already mainstream without them even knowing it – which means that his coronation as PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive is both radical but also, at the same time, safe. They just had to have the conviction to pull trigger, and they did. Let’s f-cking go, Charlotte Triggs!

And now we have a Sexiest Man Alive that meets all the broad requirements. Jonathan has starred in big projects on television and film. He is beloved by the gays, the girls, the parents, the kids, and the internet. They needed a viral SMA and they got one. They needed a more exciting SMA and they got one. They needed to revive the SMA brand and they did it. 

Because for a few years now, it’s been on the decline, less controversial than it was unremarkable. And now? They’ve opened up so many possibilities, so much potential. And they should be rewarded for it. 

Let's Squawk about it! (App link here)