Entertainment

Kim Jong Un is the ‘Sexiest Man Alive,’ says The Onion, Chinese newspaper

Taylor Bigler Entertainment Editor
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One of these is not like the other: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds, Channing Tatum, Kim Jong Un.

All of these men have been called the “Sexiest Man Alive,” but if bestowing the honor upon the North Korean dictator sounds like something straight out of The Onion, that’s because it is.

The satirical website named the dear leader its “Sexiest Man Alive” Nov. 14, calling him “devastatingly handsome” with an “impeccable fashion sense” and “famous smile.”

“With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true,” The Onion wrote. “Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.”

But the Chinese Communist Party’s online newspaper, People’s Daily Star, took the fake honor seriously and ran a story Tuesday with the headline, “North Korea’s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012,” CBS News first reported.

The Daily Star quoted from the The Onion’s spoof before launching into a 55-page slideshow with photos of the dictator on horseback, pointing at things, holding a pieces of paper, wearing a coat, and aiming a rifle.

The Daily Star quoted The Onion’s (fictional) style and entertainment editor, Marissa Blake-Zweibel, as saying, “He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time.”

It’s understandable that things like satire and sarcasm get lost in translation, but seriously? Maybe one country’s doughy dictator is another’s sex symbol.

Kim takes the crown from last year’s winner, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The Onion has previously awarded the honor to Wall Street felon Bernie Madoff and “unibomber” Ted Kaczynski.

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