Will Ferrell Demands to Be Named ‘People’s Sexiest Man Alive

Will Ferrell says that comedians have been unfairly excluded from People’s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” cover, and he knows which funnyman is most deserving of the honor. After all, if you ain’t first, you’re last.

It’s universally understood that one of the top attractive qualities any man can possess is a solid sense of humor, but it’s hard to convey comedic chops on a magazine cover. That, I’m assuming, is People’s reasoning for why their yearly selections for exemplary male sexiness are usually the kind of self-serious manly men and pretty boys who would find themselves out of place in one of Ferrell’s comedies. For instance, try to imagine last year’s winner, Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, slipping into a race suit and pretending to be a competitive driver like Ferrell did in Talladega Nights — actually, scratch that, he somehow gets even sexier.

Nonetheless, Ferrell believes that there is a barrier in entertainment media that needs to be broken, and he’s the sexy man for the job. At the premiere of Despicable Me 4 in New York City this past Sunday, Ferrell launched his campaign to seize the honor of People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2024 this November for the good of all comedian-kind — but, apparently, Paul Rudd doesn’t count.

When a reporter from People approached Ferrell on the red carpet of the film's premiere, Ferrell immediately began “planting the seeds” for his selection in the end-of-the-year deliberations on the most desirable man of 2024, explaining that he deserves to be the Sexiest Man Alive “because you guys never have comedians.”

“So get it going internally, all right? Sexiest Man,” he bluntly instructed the People representative. The reporter insisted on discussing Despicable Me 4 instead of assisting in Ferrell’s crusade, so the actor who plays the film’s villain Maxime Le Mal answered the question of which superpower he would wish to have in real life, saying that he’d like “to be fluent in every language in the world. And be People Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year.” Ferrell added, “Come on. Vote for comedians.”

Of course, an important question to ask Ferrell on his Sexiest Man campaign is what exactly he defines as a “comedian,” considering that his Anchorman co-star Rudd just received the honor from People back in 2021. After all, Rudd is in the same realm of Judd Apatow and Adam McKay-adjacent comedy actors as Ferrell, only with a face that’s been chiseled and unchanged since Clueless. 

Maybe Ferrell should consult his colleague for tips on how to achieve the sought-after Sexiest Man cover — Rudd probably has a cologne for the job.