Jared Kushner's Time magazine cover sets off meme fest as Twitter mocks his pose, compares him to Slenderman
The Time magazine’s cover story, a profile of Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, has turned into a kind of meme.
Titled, ‘Inside Jared Kushner’s Unusual White House Role’, the Time magazine story itself is quite revelatory. It details Kushner’s rise to power, his relationship with Trump, the odd mementos in his office and what he has accomplished within the White House. But that’s not what has gotten everyone in a tizzy.
It’s Kushner’s photo on the cover that has garnered some amusement.
Kushner, on the magazine cover, is standing awkwardly. Straight as a ramrod, with his arms to his side, Kushner does not even have a hint of a smile on his face. Twitter users say photographer Stefan Ruiz might have just used a mannequin for the Time photoshoot as this robotic posture has become completely meme-worthy.
Twitter user Rob Joyce (@RobJoyce156) wrote: “Jared Kushner’s TIME cover is what happens when you’re asked to customize your video game avatar and just select ‘default settings’ instead.”
Others were less kind. Aaron Rupar, a journalist at Vox, tweeted: “It appears Jared’s father in law gave him standing lessons,” making a snide remark on both Kushner and Trump.
Some compared Kushner’s posture to Slenderman, a fictional supernatural character who is most commonly depicted as a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless head and face and wearing a black suit. Others compared him to Gigolo Joe, Jude Law’s character in the 2001 Steven Spielberg film ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’. Many even compared him to the Brahm, the porcelain doll from the horror/slasher films ‘The Boy’ and ‘Brahm: They Boy 2’.
One Twitter user Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) hypothesized the conversation between Kushner and the photographer during the shoot:
“TIME PHOTOGRAPHER: Okay, stand normally.
JARED KUSHNER: I am.
TIME PHOTOGRAPHER: No, sorry. You misunderstand. Stand *normally*.
JARED KUSHNER: I am standing normally.
TIME PHOTOGRAPHER (sighing): F*ck it. Look straight ahead.”
Thomas Brewster, security, surveillance and privacy reporter for Forbes magazine commented on Kushner’s pose and wrote, “Kushner comes from the same factory as Zuckerberg right?” a reference to how the Facebook founder and CEO looked stiff and uncomfortable when he appeared before Congress in 2018.