Well, the guys are currently in Melbourne for Oz Comic-Con. John was gearing up to make an appearance at the convention dressed as his character Malcolm Merlyn when he decided to post a picture of himself in his hotel room on Shapchap.
Two new photos have surfaced online, one a front and side view, the other a rear view. They have everyone from Seth Rogen to Justin’s own dad talking, both approvingly. (Yeah, we think that last one is weird too.)
Daniel Franzese’s recent series of shirtless selfies is “more [than] a thirst trap”; it’s “a protest,” as he wrote on Instagram.
The Looking alum — armed with the hashtags #visableequalsvaluable #aboveaveragemen #movefashionforward and #effyourbeautystandards — is campaigning for the media, and society in general, to stop “sleeping on the big boys” and start normalizing and sexualizing men of size.
“I urge you if you have felt uncomfortable in your skin trying to live up to a standard only achieved through relentless training and more often fortunate genetics [to] take a break,” he wrote on August 23. “If you don’t see yourself represented in media then be that representative.”
Franzese, who is openly gay, went on: “I challenge you to go to the end of your comfort zone and take one small step forward. Remove your shirt by the pool. Post a naked selfie and allow yourself to be comfortable in your own skin. Your belly deserves to see the sun. Nothing is more sexy than confidence and being self conscious is a vibe killer. You have one body and we all want to improve and work towards a healthy and fit lifestyle but love the body you have today that will take you on that journey. If we were cavemen trust me my big brutish body would bring all the boys to the cave.”
“F*ck the media’s vision of me,” the Mean Girls actor concluded. “I know the man that I am.”
A straight guy seems to have broken the cardinal rule of posting anonymous nudes online: Don’t include identifying features. But you certainly won’t hear his gay friend complaining.
The gay friend writes on Reddit that he had a “brief moment of shookethness” recently when he got together with his straight friend from college, whom he hadn’t seen in six years.
“He is very hetero and truly doesn’t have a bi/gay bone [in] his body but has always been a great ally to me as a gay guy,” he adds. “Anywho, being a gay as I am, I’ve often wondered what he looked like naked and what he was packing… I know, how stereotypical of me.”
The two guys got to talking about tattoos, and the straight friend showed off the ink on his arm. “It hit me as I was looking at it: I’ve seen this tattoo before,” the Redditor writes. “I didn’t think anything about it until I was on the way home, and then the light bulb came on… I’ve [seen] it on Reddit… And the guy who had the tattoo was totally naked just not showing a face.”
This industrious Redditor had even bookmarked the nude photo — “‘cause it was hot” — so he was able to confirm his suspicions… to a high degree of certainty, at least. “I’m 99% sure that is my friend.”
“I don’t plan to do anything about it because I actually like the guy and don’t want to make things awkward,” he concludes. “But good Lord, am I going to be fantasizing about him now.”
Actor and model Nico Tortorella got themselves a new tattoo… and it runs from their head all the way down to their heel.
Tortorella, 33, posted a series of naked images to Instagram to show off their new, abstract ink work, and to praise the artist behind it. Swipe below to see all the images.
“Ok y’all, we’ve transcended,” Tortorella said in the accompanying caption. “The next level is upon us. This feels right. I somehow found @fcknrx at this necessary moment. Their work is mind-blowing and our conversations yesterday were equally as healing. Thank you for taking on this project. And thank you for reminding me that growth and decay are inevitably one in the same. I am not going to explain what this tattoo means to me. Instead, I am going to leave you with a quote from the artist from a recent interview.”
Tattoo artist FCKNRX is the professional name for Rex Morris, based in New Haven, Connecticut. The quote from Morris that Tortorella shared said: “There’s profound hope in remembering the universe has no interest in you. More simply, in the current state of being constantly bombarded with dogmatic philosophies on how to exist socially and how to construct an identity for yourself, it can become harder and harder to decipher what you actually value.
“It’s dangerous to spend your time sorting through objects or experiences to decide whether or not they represent you. For me personally, it’s important to make time to be in nature and face its blank stare and remember that there were beautiful things before anyone decided that there were.”
FCKNRX also posted it to their own Instagram, and described the work as, “Floor to ceiling geologism.” The black ink work is largely abstract, resembling doodles, geological strata, or smoke, depending on your viewpoint, with a large cross on Tortorella’s calf.
Tortorella identifies as gender-fluid and sexually-fluid. As an actor, they have most recently appeared in The Walking Dead: The World Beyond, and the comedy-drama, Younger. They are married to Bethany C Meyers.
Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams is currently starring in the Broadway revival of the play, Take Me Out.
In his first major stage role, Williams plays the main character, Darren Lemming. Also in the show are Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family).
There’s a nude scene in a locker room, which prompted the Hayes Theater to demand that all audience members keep their phones locked in Yondr pouches during the show.
Clearly, someone didn’t get that memo. Yesterday a snippet of a cellphone video of that infamous locker room scene hit Twitter, and it shows Williams in all his glory.
Sadly, it’s far too explicit for us to embed here. All you really need to know for the following tweets to make sense is that Williams, besides incredibly athletic, is hung (NSFW link!).
Williams has not responded to the leaked video, which we’re sure will only send ticket sales through the roof.
The play is well worth seeing, regardless of that infamous scene. Penned by Richard Greenberg, the show, which won a Tony Award for Best Play for its first run in 2003, examines a major league baseball player coming out as gay.
Queerty reviewed it last month, with our writer Matthew Wexler saying it “hits and home run” and “soars in its allegorical celebration of America’s pastime.”
The wider Broadway community agrees. Yesterday, Take Me Out scooped four Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival. Jesse Williams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Michael Oberholtzer are all up for Best Actor.
Williams posted a message to social media acknowledging the nomination, saying, “No words , just gratitude. A student in a sea of teachers.”
Unsurprisingly, on Twitter, Williams’ leaked video somewhat overshadowed his Tony nomination.
I can see why his ex wife was fighting so hard to stay
Here’s wishing a belated happy birthday to actor Chris Hemsworth. The Aussie hunk turned 39 yesterday. The Thor star’s wife, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, 46, delighted his fans by sharing a nude pic of her hubby relaxing in the bath.
Hemsworth has a parrot on his head.
Accompanying the photo on Instagram, Pataky said, “Happy birthday to my favourite parrot trainer, kids handler and wife tamer, There’s nothing you can’t do. We love you to the moon and back. ”
The couple met in early 2010 and married in December that same year.
Chris Hemsworth has spoken before about their speedy romance.
“There was no great plan to any of it, to be honest,” he told Good Morning Britain in 2016. “We were on holiday and we said, ‘Why don’t we get married too?’ And then the next minute… There probably should have been some planning but it all worked out,” he mused.
“Honestly, we had both our families on holiday at the same time, just randomly, and we said this is a good opportunity with everyone together so we just did it.”
Hemsworth marked his birthday by posting a sweet video of his kids presenting him with an ice-cream cake.
Apparently, it was National Pickle Day on Monday. Who knew?
Well, one person aware of the fact was Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey. He posted a throwback photo of himself, seemingly naked, hunting for a jar of pickles in a fridge.
McConaughey, 53, simply captioned the photo, ‘Pickled #NationalPickleDay”. You need to click on the photo to see a wider view.
McConaughey won an Oscar for playing a man who battled to get HIV medication in the based-on-real-life story, Dallas Buyers Club. He also appeared in Interstellar, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Magic Mike, among many others. He recently retweeted a trailer for the new Magic Mike movie (Magic Mike’s Last Dance), but he’s not listed in the credits for that film.
He turned 53 a couple of weeks ago and celebrated the fact with another viral tweet.
took me exactly 53 trips around the sun to realize that right now I’m as young as I’ll ever be, and as old as I’ve ever been, here in the honeyhole between already and not yet. Amen.
Andy Cohen surprised his followers yesterday by posting a naked throwback photo. In the B&W image, Cohen sports long, flowing locks and appears to be sitting on a plinth, beside a statue. Ornate columns are visible behind him.
No explanation was offered, except that it’s 30 years old. As Cohen is now 54, that would make him in his mid-20s at the time of the snap.
(Photo: @bravoandy/Instagram)
“Feel like I still got it!” he said in the caption. “Should I recreate this 30 year old nude photo????” he asked his followers. He posted a poll option. When we checked, 88% of respondents had told him to go for it.
Today he duly followed it up with a recent recreation. It turns out he was wanting to help raise awareness around skin cancer.
“Thirty years ago, I posed for photographer @spencertunick (swipe for that image). And I did it again… May is #SkinCancerAwareness Month and I’m partnering with @eltamdskincare to remind you all to wear sunscreen and #GetNaked… for a skin check with your dermatologist.”
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Around one in five Americans will experience some form of skin cancer by the time they’re 70.
If you notice any unusual lumps, ulcers, lesions or skin discoloration that do not heal after four weeks, seek medical advice. The same goes for any moles or freckles that grow, change shape or bleed. Your physician will refer you to a dermatologist or other specialist if you need further investigating.
The best way to minimize the risk is to avoid too much sun exposure. Wear appropriate sunscreen and clothing, even on cloudy and cool days.
Not everyone can say they’ve literally written the book on one of their heroes. But Evan Turk can—and he drew it, too!
Turk is a Southern California-based author, animator, and artist, whose work includes a number of picture books aimed at younger readers. His latest, To See Clearly, is a beautifully illustrated biography of David Hockney, who made a name for himself in the ’60s with the Pop Art movement and is recognized as one of Western culture’s first openly gay artists.
In awe of Hockney’s distinctive style and the way queerness subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) informed his art, Turk felt compelled to tell the influential artist’s story in picture-book form, sharing his unique and vibrant point-of-view with people of all ages.
‘To See Clearly: A Portrait Of David Hockney’ by Evan Turk via Abrams Books
Immersing himself in Hockney’s story, Turk found himself amazed by his subject’s ability to break boundaries and defy easy categorization. In fact, it’s what encouraged him to further pursue his own passions as an artist, and soon Turk was creating eye-catching original pieces under the pseudonym J. Carino.
Whereas Turk’s books and illustrations were always meant for all audiences, the work of J. Carino is decidedly more mature—sensual, provocative, and unabashedly queer—frequently centered on colorful abstractions of the nude male form.
In a fantastic coincidence, his new J. Carino solo exhibition—inspired by David Hockney in myriad ways—opens in Los Angeles the same week that his book To See Clearly hits shelves. Speaking with Queerty, Turk opens up about balancing his two artistic alter egos, why Hockney’s life story is one worth sharing, and the unfortunate “double standard” that LGBTQ+ professionals are often held to.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
QUEERTY: Your newest picture book biography, To See Clearly, is all about the great gay artist David Hockney. When do you first remember encountering Hockney’s work in your own life?
TURK: The first time that I really understood what he was doing as an artist was a showing at The Met in New York in 2017 and it was this huge retrospective of his. A lot of artists don’t live as long as he has lived, and in as many different time periods as he has, and tried as many different things as he did, so it was amazing being able to see the breadth of what he was able to accomplish as an artist, while also considering this is a gay painter featured at The Met. Seeing all of these people turn up for his work was really inspiring because there aren’t a lot of out gay artists with that kind of worldwide [notoriety.]
That’s interesting because, you know, he’ll have paintings that aren’t necessarily explicit, but very gay—naked guys hanging out together, things like that. And it’s just funny seeing all the stuffy people at The Met having to directly deal with something like that. It feels kind of revenge or retribution for all of the heteronormativity that’s been the focus of art history for the past few thousand years.
‘To See Clearly: A Portrait Of David Hockney’ by Evan Turk via Abrams Books
Has your understanding of his work and appreciation of him as an artist changed as you’ve come into your own as an artist and queer person?
Something I talk about in the book is how he’s always trying new things, and I think that’s something that’s really inspiring as an artist—just that you don’t have to only be one thing, you don’t have to put yourself in a box, and you can kind of explore and grow and change as people do.
I [previously] did a picture book biography of the artist Ben Shahn called The People’s Painter, and then I was working on this book a little bit later as that one was coming out, so doing two back-to-back biographies of painters made me want to push myself a little bit more. I started venturing more into the fine art world about four years ago, and these projects were a big impetus for that. It really inspired me to be like, “Okay, I don’t have to just be an illustrator—I can be other things, too.”
Anyone can appreciate the love and work you’ve put into To See Clearly, but this is a picture book aimed at younger readers. Why is Hockney’s story one you feel is important to share with a younger generation?
One of the reasons I love his work so much is that it really can speak to all different kinds of people, all ages. What I tried to get across in the text of the book is that it’s just about the joy of being alive, and how to enjoy looking at the world and being a part of the world. That really comes across in his work, and that’s a lesson that kids can really understand.
I talk about art with kids and lot, and usually it’s the adults who are like, “Oh, I don’t know if kids are going to understand that; I don’t know if they’re going to pick up on that.” But these kids pick up on it instantaneously—they understand without having to be told.
And so that’s what’s interesting about Hockney’s work: it’s so vibrant and colorful and it’s approachable. And I think it also is just a good philosophy for what an artist can be. Using art as a tool to understand the world—which is how I tried to approach it in the book—is something that kids will hopefully be able to pick up and see. Art isn’t about just making good painting, it’s about trying to understand things. And I think that’s an important lesson for kids and adults.
‘To See Clearly: A Portrait Of David Hockney’ by Evan Turk via Abrams Books
Of course, book bannings are nothing new, but it’s notable that your Hockney book is coming out at a time when we’re seeing elected officials make a stink about so-called “grooming” and are attempting to take anything about the LGBTQ+ community out of schools entirely. What do you make of the situation? Have you encountered any pushback to your work in children’s books?
The situation right now is pretty ridiculous with authors and illustrators being targeted. You know, I haven’t received any pushback; it hasn’t come out yet, so we’ll see. But, for me, it was really important to address his queerness or gayness—I don’t know how he would describe it necessarily. I think there’s no reason that it can’t be addressed; in the same way that if a painter like Picasso made a lot of paintings about the women in his life—that he was mistreating, by the way—you would have to talk about the fact that he was in relationships with them. It was part of his work.
I won’t mention names, but there was a children’s book about another very prominent gay artist that came out a few years ago, and it was someone who talked about his gayness in his work, but it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the book or in the back matter with the rest of the biography. And it couldn’t feel like anything but an intentional decision to have omitted it.
So when I was thinking about who I might want to write a book on, I was like, “I don’t want someone to do a book about David Hockney and edit out that part out of his life,” because I think it’s really an important part of who he is, and why he’s why he’s so well known. His work was so groundbreaking at the time because of it.
Earlier you mentioned notwanting to box yourself in as an artist, which I think is a perfect segue into talking about balancing you career as an author/illustratorwith your more adult-oriented art under the name J. Carino. At what point did you begin to delineate between the two and why?
That was kind of an evolving process. It started in 2019 and was just something where I was wanting to create artwork that wasn’t for a client, that I was just doing for myself—even though children’s books can be that, like I came up with the idea for this David Hockney book and created myself. It was about having something that wasn’t accountable to anyone else.
The name comes from my mom’s side of the family, which is Jaccarino, and she and both her parents have all been artists, so it felt nice to connect with that.
Starting to do this other work—which I was doing anonymously at the time—was very liberating, to be able to draw whatever I wanted, and not have it feel like anything was weighing down on me. So there was a lot of compartmentalization in a way that allowed me to have more freedom. And then as I kept doing, it started drawing a bit of an audience, and I was enjoying it more, and getting more opportunities, and starting to take it more seriously, myself. As it’s grown, it’s been something that I’ve become really passionate about doing. And it’s become 50/50 with my illustration work.
It was always really intentional for me to keep it separate because, even before all of the [anti-LGBTQ+] stuff that’s been happening more recently, there’s still just always a weird double standard for any gay person that works with children, you know? They have to officially compartmentalize and make sure that there’s no discussion of a personal life. So that was very much on my mind, though as my painting work has grown, I’ve grown more comfortable with attaching myself to it, I guess.
It took me a couple of years to ever put a photo of myself up with the name J. Carino. But as I kept doing both, there was a point where I was tired of having to hide a little bit, because a lot of what I do in my painting work is about being open and free. Even working on To See Clearly was about that idea of being comfortable with who you are and, after a certain point, it was kind of like, “Well, I can only be who I authentically am, right?” So… we’ll see where that goes!
Beyond the Hockney book, you also have a new solo exhibition as J. Carino, “Frontiers And Boundaries,” coming up at Sow & Tailor in Los Angeles. What do the pieces in this collection represent to you at this point in your career?
Yeah, this is a really exciting opportunity for me. So, my husband and I moved to Riverside, California about three years ago, which is not too far from LA. It’s been a really interesting process coming out here, being somewhere new, and trying to find where I fit in this new place.
Really, it’s just an extension on some of the things that we’ve been talking about: As queer people, we’re told we’re not natural, or that who we are goes against nature. And nature is something that’s been important to me since I was a kid growing up in Colorado, just surrounded by the mountains. I went out to school in New York City—which is something that a lot of gay people do: they find the biggest city with the most gay people to go to—and that was an important part of growing up and coming out, too. But I also realized that I was distancing myself from that idea that nature is a part of who I am. So, by combining ideas of sensuality and queerness and nature, it feels like I’m pulling these different pieces of myself back together a little bit.
“Boundless” by J. Carino
And that comes full circle to David Hockney, who did a number of landscapes pieces over the decades, which certainly feel like an artist reckoning with his place in the world as a queer person.
Yeah! I think that his landscapes were the things that I first fell in love with of his work—even before I knew that he was gay and hadn’t seen any of his gay paintings. So that exploration of the landscape is something that’s a big part of the way that I see the world. And I like doing it in a way that allows me to connect with myself as a gay person, too.
This show will be really exciting for me. It’ll be my first solo show in LA, which is exciting since California is my new home. And it’s a great gallery! So I think it’ll just be a really exciting experience.
To See Clearly: A Portrait Of David Hockney—written and illustrated by Evan Turk—is available September 19 via Abrams Books For Yound Readers. You can find more information here.
In September, alt-pop star Omar Apollo announced the vinyl of his gorgeous new EP, Live For Me, would come in eye-popping packaging that featured a portrait of… well, his package.
Though Live For Me dropped earlier this month, the vinyl hadn’t yet shipped, so the public still hadn’t caught a glimpse of Apollo’s painted penis for themselves—talk about a c*ck tease!
But that all changed last night.
At a ticketed event held at the Museum of Modern Art’s PS1 contemporary art institute in Queens, Apollo hosted what was billed as an “immersive listening experience” for Live For Me, with all proceeds going to The Trevor Project.
As the singer-songwriter had been teasing online, it’s here that folks could get their first in-person look at the front and back of the EP’s art, featuring the “top” and “bottom” of his painted nude, respectively.
My dicks about to be in the MoMa if any of my friends wanna pull up text me
Joining Apollo at the event was artist Doran Langberg, the portraitist behind the revealing artwork who he calls a “superstar of our world.”
In a video shared to Twitter X by The Trevor Project’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Kevin Wong (who also gave permission to Queerty to share his photos from the event), Apollo and Langberg discussed the process of creating the Live For Me art, citing queer photographer Peter Hujar as inspiration.
“We go into [Langberg’s] studio—which I’ve already been in—like, hung out, talked, had a great time, connected,” Apollo told the attentive MoMa crowd. “Then we do the first painting, then I’m go, ‘Oh let’s go get a sandwich, get a lunch break. And then you decide afterwards if you still want to do the dick portrait.’”
“I could tell that you were nervous about it,” Langberg chimed in.
Photo Credit: Kevin Wong
“I was nervous about it,” admitted Apollo with a laugh. “Im a confident guy, don’t get me wrong, but I was nervous about it.”
“But also I could tell that you wanted to do it,” Langberg responded. “I was like, ‘How do I encourage this and make you feel comfortable?'”
Eventually, it sounds like Apollo was able to shake those nerves and do what needed to be done. “So, yeah, he paints form observation…,” he said, which was met with a loud roar of “wooOOOooo” from the crowd. “So it was exhilarating, I was like, ‘Whoa, what is happening?'”
Inevitably, images of Langberg’s uncensored art have found their way online, to the excitement of Apollo’s thirstiest fans. (You’ll have to click through if you want to see for yourself, in all its glory.)
Screenshot: X, @fashionfaguette
Reactions to Apollo’s pole portrait have been rolling in all morning:
There’s been no word on whether or not Apollo’s new buddy Pedro Pascal was present last night to admire the art, but we hope he’s a fan of what he saw!
Emerald Fennell’s darkly comedic—and homoerotic!—thriller Saltburn is now streaming via Amazon Prime Video, which means if you haven’t made it to the theater in the past month, you finally have an opportunity to see the movie everyone’s been talking about this season.
And while reviews are decidedly all over the place, one thing audiences seem to agree on is that Fennell’s film knows how to deliver some shocking, unforgettable scenes. By now, you may have heard about the one with the bathtub?
Say what you will about Saltburn, but we can’t remember the last time we saw something that horny at the movies.
How about we take this to the next level?
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With the freaky flick now more widely available, with thought it was high time we took a deeper dive into its wild final scene, the one that shows star Barry Keoghan’s full—and we do mean full—commitment to the role.
*Caution: Major spoilers ahead for Saltburn.*
In case you haven’t seen the movie yet, but are here just because you want to know more about the nudity (hey, no shame in that—welcome!), here’s a quick crash course on Saltburn‘s plot:
It’s 2006 and the brainy, enigmatic Oliver Quick (Keoghan) is beginning his first semester at the prestigious Oxford University on scholarship, feeling out of place among his much wealthier classmates.
Soon, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) catches his eye, one of the wealthiest and most charming of them all. After Oliver shows him kindness in a moment of need, the two become unlikely friends and, out of pity, Felix invites him to spend the following summer on his family’s estate, Saltburn.
It’s here that we meet the gregarious yet shallow and disaffected Cattons (Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver), as Oliver tries to ingratiate himself to the family all while nursing what is clearly an unhealthy obsession with Felix.
We can think of at least three jaw-dropping scenes in ‘Saltburn’ that’ll have the gays talking for the rest of the year.
As Oliver’s behavior gets more and more erratic, Felix eventually finds out his “friend” had been lying about his mostly pleasant situation back home, and turns on him. Unable to bear the rejection, Oliver ends up killing Felix—and then orchestrates the deaths of each of the Cattons, one by one, until he’s the only one left standing at Saltburn…
Which is what leads us to that unshakeable final scene: Our antihero, completely unclothed—limbs and other body parts flying freely—as he does his victory dance around the massive mansion to the tune of Brit pop darling Sophie Ellis Bextor’s 2001 hit, “Murder On The Dancefloor.” How appropriate!
Image Credit: ‘Saltburn,’ MGM
First thing’s first—we know what you’re wondering: Yes, the scene is very much online, for the curious. Streaming via Prime Video, but also very easily searchable on Twitter X. You’re welcome!
And, secondly: Yes, that’s really Barry Keoghan, in all his glory—no prosthetics! In case there was any doubt that he’s one of the most fearless, committed young actors working today.
“I really do want to show commitment and maturity in my craft, that I’m willing to make choices if they’re out there, they’re out there,” he says to GQ, breaking down the scene. “I’m willing to step into that and be serious about what I do and not shy away from it. If it requires some crazy or wherever I’ll do it if it’s for the right reason.”
For Keoghan, it wasn’t really the nudity that had made him nervous—he had previously gone whole-hog in the 2016 drama Mammal—but the dancing. “I was trying to put it off and put it off and put it off because I was shying away from the idea of dancing. Not being in the nude—dancing,” he shares.
Luckily, he had some strong technical support in choreographer Polly Bennett, who most recently was Austin Butler’s movement coach for Elvis. As she shares with Vulture, Keoghan may not be a dancer, but he certainly had the physicality to pull the big scene off:
“He’s a lovely mover in the sense that he’s very athletic and sporty, so he understands his body in a sports way,” the choreographer says. “He wasn’t having to be a professional dancer going down the hallway; it felt more like a groove, like you do when you’ve got music playing and you’re carefree.”
Image Credit: ‘Saltburn,’ MGM
Bennett also confirms that, yes, Oliver was always meant to be naked for the climactic dance number—hence why much of it is shot from behind and the created in such a way that it wasn’t “the full-on Full Monty show for all of it.” (And, hey, we appreciate those rear shots, too!)
Jacob Elordi is especially “proud” of one of his very explicit scenes with Barry Keoghan in ‘Saltburn.’
In director Emerald Fennell’s words, the scene is intended to be joyful but also “and act of desecration,” speaking directly to the themes she set out to explore in Saltburn:
I think the thing that is effective about the song, the dance, the beauty, the complication and the detail of the shot is that you can’t leave it not kind of loving Oliver, and not feeling that your blood is up,” she tells TIME. “And that’s what this film is about. It’s about what turns us on.”
Well, mission accomplished then, Emerald!
And for anyone out there who might be wondering how Sophie Ellis-Bextor feels about her signature song being associated with such skin-forward moment of cinema, we’re pleased to report that show loves it!
The singer says Fennell approached her for the song with no other “plan B” in mind, reading a synopsis of the scene without the full context.
“I didn’t really know exactly how it would play in terms of the role it was in the movie until I saw it at the screening, but I absolutely loved it,” she tells People. “I mean, Barry really went for it. And it’s, like, the whole song!”
Ellis-Bextor continues: “How lovely for me, I mean, look, I’ve been singing ‘Murder’ for over 20 years and it’s so nice that it still has the power to surprise me.” And who can blame her for being excited? The track’s use in Saltburn has certainly given it a second life, spreading like wildfire on social media.
So here’s hoping the next time you hear “Murder On The Dancefloor”—whether on TikTok or out on an actual dance floor—you’re reminded of Barry Keoghan and Barry, Jr.!
Scroll down below for just a few more of our favorite reactions to Keoghan’s committed performance on social media:
Saltburn giving us Barry Keoghan dancing about nude with his massive hog swinging about. pic.twitter.com/lBXcrZ27HV
been listening to murder on the dancefloor more or less every morning since watching saltburn , really sets you up for the day (with the mental image of barry keoghan’s massive penis)
(@kailieykail) 
”
Science Fiction/Double Feature
(@thebrandonamir) 
