BRYONY GORDON: Wahey, welcome to 'Hot Boy Summer'! So why do I feel guilty for ogling hunky Theo James? By Bryony Gordon Published: 09:58 EDT, 11 July 2024 | Updated: 12:05 EDT, 11 July 2024 e-mail 37 View comments The rain is pouring, the wind is howling, and the knob on the thermostat hasn’t looked this inviting since that big freeze back in February. But while July seems to have done a runner, there’s no mistaking that the Hot Boy Summer is well and truly here. For those who are not regular users of social media, let me explain: ‘Hot Boy Summer’ is a masculine aesthetic seen on Instagram and Tik Tok that essentially involves lots of bare, oiled torsos.
But it is also very much a wider trend, as seen in Gladiator 2’s first trailer, released to much fanfare earlier this week. I watched it, for research purposes, of course, and can report that it’s three minutes, ten seconds of pure testosterone: rippling muscles covered in sweat and dirt, Denzel Washington delivering angry monologues about rage while Paul Mescal does battle with a giant rhino and Pedro Pascal single-handedly takes out an army of men who make Russell Crowe look like Mr Bean. Theo James, 39, lies in a dinghy in only a pair of white Speedos, as you do of a Sunday afternoon, on top of a model who apparently goes out with Leonardo DiCaprio And if this wasn’t enough to raise the temperature, Pascal proceeded to post a ‘behind the scenes’ shot to social media, which featured his co-star Mescal wea.
