鶹ý

Entertainment

    • Men are being compared to rodents across the internet. But how do they feel about it?

    Clockwise, from top left: Actors Josh O'Connor, Timothée Chalamet, Mike Faist and Barry Keoghan have become the face of a dubious new beauty term. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images; Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Andy Kropa/Invision/AP Clockwise, from top left: Actors Josh O'Connor, Timothée Chalamet, Mike Faist and Barry Keoghan have become the face of a dubious new beauty term. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images; Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
    Share

    In the Chinese zodiac, 2024 is the year of the dragon. To the internet, it is the year of the rat.

    It began, seemingly, with a few innocuous social media posts comparing Mike Faist, co-star of the titillating tennis throuple film “Challengers,” to a dormouse. Soon, the complexity of the analogy snowballed to odd levels of specificity: He’s a field mouse. No, he’s a cartoon mouse. No, he’s Despereaux (the dumbo-eared mouse from the 2008 animated film “The Tale of Despereaux”). No, he’s Stuart Little, if Stuart Little was hot. He was “like if a sleepy cartoon mouse came to life and then got really into cross fit,” wrote journalist Lucy Ford on X.

    And it wasn’t long until fans on social media began examining the facial features of other male celebrities for similar signs of rodent likeness — Faist’s “Challengers” co-star Josh O’Connor, for example. Barry Keoghan. Timothée Chalamet. Jeremy Allen White. Glen Powell. This list goes on. From chinchillas to capybaras, the rodent comparisons sped across social media like a runaway wheel of cheese, warping the image (and perhaps the confidence) of many popular, young white male celebrities in its path.

    On June 2, a Daily Mail article introduced this internet in-joke to the masses. “How ‘hot rodent’ men became Hollywood’s sexiest heartthrobs: Gen Z fans are going wild for actors with unusual features including Barry Keoghan, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Allen White,” read the headline. The trend has since been covered by the , the , the ,  and the , among others.

    How do these men — heartthrobs of the moment, even — feel about being categorized as “hot rodents”? Powell, who was first likened to a rodent back in 2023, has gamely praised the ingenuity of the chronically online. “This is why the internet’s a great place,” he told Jimmy Fallon last December. “I really kind of own the capybara thing now. I am the capybara.”

    Despite outreach, CNN did not receive a response from O’Connor, Chalamet, Keoghan or White. (Faist’s agent, meanwhile, confirmed that the actor does not use social media. A small mercy). But more broadly, the informal sampling of average Joes — or should that be average Jerrys? — CNN reached for comment largely didn’t mind being dubbed ratty.

    Surveyed in a Whatsapp friend group, one 20-something admitted hearing the term would “hurt,” while another said he would be happy to embrace “hot rat summer.” A third man polled shared that despite an initial knee jerk reaction, he understood that “rodent men are very hot right now” and so would probably be “flattered.”

    For some, the question goes beyond the hypothetical. One had already been called a “rat boy” by his current girlfriend. “She’s still with me,” he wrote. “So I’ve taken it well.”

    Similarly, Gustav, a 22-year-old X user, has also been compared to a mouse. (Stuart Little, to be precise — just like Faist.) “I’d say I mostly found the comment amusing,” he told CNN via X. “It was clearly not meant as an insult and even though some people would take it as an insult, I mostly felt it was a way of saying that I was cute.”

    While by no means exhaustive, these responses suggest men feel mostly fine with the “hot rodent” trend. But if any male celebrity is struggling with the break-neck transition from traditional dreamboat to furry pin-up, perhaps the Chinese zodiac — which believes rats to be among the most intelligent, popular and charming animals of the 12-year cycle — can be some comfort, after all.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Police are looking for a suspect who allegedly threw a coffee at a woman’s vehicle and then shot at her windshield following some sort of dispute that began at a Tim Hortons in Pickering on Friday morning.

    The former principal of a Christian school in Ontario's Niagara Region has been arrested and charged with sexual assault.

    Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.

    Parents at some private, for-profit daycares across the GTA are being warned that their fees could soon be doubling as operators consider pulling out of the national $10-a-day child-care program.

    Canada

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • Border guards in Montreal intercepted millions of amphetamine tablets concealed in hundreds of PVC panels inside a container from China.

    • Parents of Quebec teenagers are worried that high schools are becoming "recruitment grounds" after police arrested a dozen teens it believes have ties to organized crime. But experts say it's nothing new and better prevention measures are needed.

    • The former principal of a Christian school in Ontario's Niagara Region has been arrested and charged with sexual assault.

    • Police are looking for a suspect who allegedly threw a coffee at a woman’s vehicle and then shot at her windshield following some sort of dispute that began at a Tim Hortons in Pickering on Friday morning.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

    • This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.

    Sports

    Autos

    • Elon Musk unveils his 'Cybercab' robotaxi

      Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled on Thursday his vision of a 'a fun, exciting future,' an 'age of abundance' full of his company’s self-driving cars without steering wheels, parking lots turned into parks and robots that will walk among the population – that he once again promised would be available within a few years.

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    Local Spotlight

    James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

    This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.

    There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    • With just over a week to go until election day, another BC Conservative candidate is coming under fire. This time, for comments about First Nations communities.

    • New research is showing the positive impact SOGI 123 or sexual orientation and gender identity resources are having in schools across British Columbia.

    • Greater Vancouver hosting multiple Northern Lights displays is part of a "very natural cycle", says UBC professor.

    • Parents at some private, for-profit daycares across the GTA are being warned that their fees could soon be doubling as operators consider pulling out of the national $10-a-day child-care program.

    • Here is a look at what’s open, what’s closed, and what’s on in the GTA during Thanksgiving weekend 2024:

    • The Halton Regional Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man wanted for attempted murder after allegedly being released “in error.”

    • It’s no trick. It’s all treat.

    • Police are looking for a driver involved in a hit-and-run in the northeast Calgary community of Pineridge that sent a man to hospital in serious condition.

    • A Manotick business has been left stunned as thieves made off with $90,000 worth of jewelry.

    • A 28-year-old woman is facing charges following the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Prescott, Ont. Thursday, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

    • The promotional giveaway that was planned for Monday's game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Canadian Tire Centre will be modified, according to the Ottawa Senators.

    • Two young men are facing second-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal fire in Old Montreal that killed Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie on Oct. 4.

    • Parents of Quebec teenagers are worried that high schools are becoming "recruitment grounds" after police arrested a dozen teens it believes have ties to organized crime. But experts say it's nothing new and better prevention measures are needed.

    • A woman in her 70s is fighting for her life in hospital after being struck by a vehicle on Friday evening in Longueuil, Montérégie on Montreal's South Shore.

    • 鶹ý Edmonton spoke with two families, as well as Edmonton's public and Catholic school divisions, about the first month of school with Alberta's school cellphone ban.

    • A week ago today, Lita Pawliw was on the receiving end of a phone call no mother ever wants to get.

    • More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.

    • It's not the most auspicious Thanksgiving weather for the Maritimes as a series of low pressure systems and weather fronts move through the region bringing inclement weather.

    • A multiple vehicle collision took place Saturday morning on Hwy. 101 in Nova Scotia.

    • Two Winnipeggers have been arrested after images and videos were posted online of animals being tortured and killed.

    • A 37-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with multiple offences after videos filmed in a public pool change room were seized by police.

    • Tec Voc has started 6-0 – leading the AAA division as the only undefeated team.

    • There is a lot on the line in Saturday’s matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions as a Rider win will secure them a home playoff game.

    • Regina will vote for a new mayor, city council and public and separate school board trustees on Nov. 13.

    • The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party laid out its platform on Friday, ahead of the Oct. 28 provincial election.

    • Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest has officially begun! Here's what happened during Friday's big Bavarian celebration at Willkommen Platz.

    • The Northern Lights put on another spectacular show on Thursday night, with shades of blue, pink and green rippling across the night sky.

    • Kitchener, Ont. native Steven Lorentz scored his first goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

    • The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

    • The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party laid out its platform on Friday, ahead of the Oct. 28 provincial election.

    • A Prince Albert woman has developed an app that allows people to lend and borrow items from each other.

    • video

      video

      The London Knights have christened the new Canada Life Place arena with a 5-4 win over the Barrie Colts.

    • In case you missed it, 鶹ý London has gathered all of the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.

    • If you’re getting together with friends and family this long weekend, there are some things to keep in mind. Many offices, stores and businesses will be closed to mark the holiday. Here's what to know about what is open this Monday:

    • Provincial police remind motorists about the importance of buckling up after an officer discovered a passenger sitting on a kitchen chair inside the vehicle during a traffic stop in the Town of the Blue Mountains.

    • A Christian Island man is facing multiple charges in connection to the left of a vehicle in Midland.

    • A man and a woman are facing multiple charges after being found seemingly unconscious in a vehicle in Midland Friday afternoon.

    • In case you missed it, 鶹ý Windsor has compiled all of the top local stories from this week into one video.

    • A Windsor man testified in his careless driving trial in a Chatham-Kent courtroom on Friday.

    • A University of Windsor board member is calling for a pause on controversial agreements made with pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied part of the campus earlier this year.

    • With just over a week to go until election day, another BC Conservative candidate is coming under fire. This time, for comments about First Nations communities.

    • B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad says it will be up to voters to judge his party's candidates as he stood by a pair whose remarks on Indigenous and Muslim people drew condemnation from election rivals and other critics.

    • James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • Local photographers were amazed by the aurora borealis display in the night sky over Lethbridge on Thursday night.

    • Lethbridge- The latest monthly report from the Alberta Real Estate Association shows Lethbridge has seen one of the biggest year over year increases in home prices.

    • The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.

    • A closer look at preventing graffiti will be looked at in Sault Ste. Marie, after a string of offensive displays by one man, including spray painting anti-Indigenous language and painting over the pride crosswalk.

    • Even on an average day, the intersection of Highway 17 at Highway 6 near Espanola is busy, but it’s especially steady on a Friday before a long weekend.

    • A 34-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie who was wanted for a probation violation was found this week with a switchblade, drugs, a digital scale and $5,170 in cash.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 鶹ý. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 鶹ý