Hoda and Jenna unpack the rodent boyfriend trend: 'You should want to date Stuart Little'
Oh, what "Challengers" hath wrought.
It's officially Rat Boy Summer.
On a recent episode of Today, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager weighed in on one of the most pressing issues of our day: rodent boyfriends.
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"Hot, rodent boyfriend. Or a sexy rat men. They're one and the same," Hager explains. "If somebody comes up to you and says, 'Hey, sexy rat man,' they're also calling you a hot rodent boyfriend."
If you're unfamiliar, you probably didn't get your jollies to Challengers like so much of the thirst-trappingest parts of the internet did, but that's where Hoda and Jenna come in. They're here to break it down for ya, one chivalrous mouse at a time.
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This all started when Challengers' large-eared heartthrobs Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist inspired several memes about their rodent-like hotness, with O'Connor being compared to rich, posh, gentlerat-about-town Roddy St. James from Flushed Away and Faist to convertible-driving, be-sweatered and beloved mouse Stuart Little.
Taking their cues from this Dazed article on the rat boyfriend "phenomenon" (Challengers isn't that big of a movie and this attraction is rather niche...though accurate), Hoda and Jenna list the traits of these mousy men of the moment.
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Basically they're twinks who are unconventionally handsome, don't give off toxic masculinity vibes, and are not afraid to be weirdly romantic in public with their partners. Think Kieran Culkin in any situation. See also: Jeremy Allen White, Jerrod Carmichael, John Mulaney.
Hoda and Jenna make sure to clarify that just because "people are saying" O'Connor and Faist "look like cartoon mice," they don't necessarily share that opinion.
"This is not a slam on them at all. It's the opposite," Kotb says.
"You should want to date Stuart Little," a possibly dead-serious Hager adds. Kotb utters a quick "Yeah" in agreement, only to immediately regret it, resting her weary head in the palm of her hand.
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"Stuart Little is actually quite attractive," Hager continues. "Right?"
"I never thought of it, but okay," a still face-palmed Kotb responds,
Again, Stuart Little had a car. A very nice car. And the mouse could dress, plus he came from, like, a good, loving family. That's already an adorable, tiny leg up on most boyfriends.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.