Petition promotes Dr. Anthony Fauci as Sexiest Man Alive

He’s no Baby Yoda, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has developed a fanbase anyway. Not only is there merchandise featuring the doctor’s image, but one online petition is calling for the physician to be named People’s Sexiest Man Alive. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 15,000 people had signed it.

“Dr. Anthony Fauci is America’s top expert on infectious diseases,” the petition reads. “He speaks truth to power, a strength few have at this time. His kind face and manner of speaking bring calm during the storm. … he is the definitive Sexiest Man Alive in 2020.” 

A reporter for Vanity Fair magazine asked Fauci if he ever envisioned himself as a candidate for Sexiest Man Alive. 

“Well, no,” the doctor said. “Absolutely not. But as I often say, when they, when they show this to me at my age, I say, ‘Where were you when I was 30?'”

Previous Sexiest Man Alive winners include Idris Elba, David Beckham and George Clooney — men who are a bit different from the 79-year-old Fauci, who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. But Fauci might just be the man of the moment. He’s become recognizable for his regular appearances at White House briefings discussing the coronavirus pandemic. The New Yorker magazine dubbed him “America’s doctor,” and the BBC called him “the face of America’s fight against coronavirus.”