Volodymyr Zelenskiy is the president of Ukraine and also, I regret to inform you, the internet’s latest heart-throb. TikTok is awash with “fancams” lusting over the man, and the always classy New York Post has published headlines such as: “Women go wild for ‘thirst trap’ Ukrainian President.” A recent viral tweet similarly declared: “BREAKING: every woman in your life now has at least a small crush on Volodymyr Zelenskiy and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”
It is natural to admire Zelenskiy’s poise and bravery amid the invasion of Ukraine. But there is a difference between respecting a politician and sexualising or worshipping them. Idolising politicians is questionable during the best of times but doing it in the midst of a bloody war is highly problematic. Idolising wartime leaders can help glamorise conflict and perpetuate dangerously simplistic narratives of good versus evil. Treating a head of state like he’s a member of a boyband also risks trivialising what is happening in Ukraine. Not to mention, it’s just embarrassing.
The lust around Zelenskiy may be cringeworthy, but it’s also depressingly predictable. Remember the beginning of the pandemic, when large swathes of self-proclaimed “Cuomosexuals” in the US fawned over Andrew Cuomo, the then governor of New York? (This did not age well: Cuomosexuals had to hawk their “I have a crush on Cuomo” coffee cups on eBay after the governor had a very dramatic fall from grace.) Remember all the erotic fan fiction about Pete and Chasten Buttigieg? Remember Rahmbamarama – the fanfiction community for people who worshipped president Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff? “Fandom” has well and truly infiltrated politics and it’s not great for democracy.
Before I get accused of being a killjoy, let’s cut to Zelenskiy’s own thoughts on the matter, shall we? As far as I can tell, he hasn’t officially commented on his new status as a heart-throb (he’s been kind of busy), but he has made his thoughts on worshipping politicians clear. During his inaugural address in 2019, Zelenskiy told lawmakers: “I do not want my picture in your offices: the president is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids’ photos instead, and look at them each time you are making a decision.” Advice a lot of people could do with reflecting on.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
