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Certain sections of the internet were raging this week after a photo of a muscled Elliot Page was shared. It showed Page on the cover of the August issue of Men’s Health.
Among the first to share it was British screenwriter Graham Linehan, who is known for his anti-trans views. Linehan posted the image on social media and said in a caption, “This is like putting Karen Carpenter on the cover of ‘Shape’.”
There’s one major problem. The front cover was fake.
The cover star of the August 2026 issue of Men’s Health is the ridiculously fit, 62-year-old Lenny Kravitz.
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Men’s Health Executive Editor Kengo Tsutsumi confirmed to Lead Stories, when asked about the Elliot Page circulating online, “Can confirm that Men’s Health did not publish that cover.”
The satirical Facebook page Hollywood Tea Room in fact produced it. Linehan discovered this after sharing it to his hundreds of thousands of followers but did not see fit to delete his original tweet, merely adding a follow-up saying, “Oh it’s not real. Ok.”
“Being transphobic is so tired and boring”
Many others have picked up on the fake image and shared it, believing it to be real.
It would appear that some of the men criticizing Page’s suitability to feature on the cover of Men’s Health are not exactly cover material themselves.
The chunky creator of one particular video criticizing the photo consistently misgenders Page and deadnames them in a TikTok post.
It was just begging to be dragged, which one of our favorite content creators, @mrwilliamsprek, duly did yesterday.
Williams added some further photos of the hefty, right-wing, anti-trans commentator, asking “Why didn’t they pick you?” and suggesting “Do a push-up!”
In an accompanying caption, he added, “Dudes, being transphobic is so tired and boring.”
Williams’ reel received over 150k likes on Instagram, and thousands more on Facebook and TikTok. Many agreed with his sentiment.
“Like he even reads Men’s Health,” said one commentator of the anti-trans critic.
The Odyssey
Page has been making headlines in recent weeks because of his appearance in Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster, The Odyssey. The likes of Elon Musk have criticized the casting of a trans actor as a warrior in a movie set in ancient times. Others vowed to boycott it.
However, The Odyssey did tremendous box office figures over its opening weekend, taking $264 million worldwide, including $124 million in the US. That marks a new record opening for director Nolan, ahead of his Dark Knight Rises (his previous best).
Many viewers and critics have hailed Page’s performance, despite only lasting a few minutes, as a highlight of the movie.
Related
Elliot Page shines as the emotional heart of The Odyssey’s record-breaking opening
After the theory that Page was playing Achilles caused ridiculous backlash, it turns out the actor’s role is actually even more pivotal to this version of the Greek myth.
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