John Legend says being named PEOPLE’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ is “a double edged sword”.
The ‘All of Me’ hitmaker – real name John Stephens – avoided the internet reaction to him getting the title in 2019 – which is currently held by Paul Rudd – because he knew there was a lot of nonsense going to be said about him.
In a sneak peak of the 43-year-old singer’s Fan Tweets series video – which was shared with PEOPLE magazine – he said: “You know what? I did not read y’all’s reaction to my PEOPLE cover. I knew in advance that being named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive was a double-edged sword. It’s nice, they put you on the cover, they give you this beautiful spread — but then people just talk s*** about you afterwards! So I just didn’t check my mentions.”
John was responding to a fan’s tweet that read: “ john legend reading y’alls reactions to his PEOPLE cover,” along with photo of the children’s character Arthur – the titular star of the PBS cartoon – having a single tear roll down his face.
John added: “So nope, I wasn’t crying about it because I didn’t look.”
At the time, the ‘Ordinary People’ hitmaker was “excited” but knew he was representing a long legacy of Hollywood hunks.
John said: “I was excited, but I was a little scared at the same time because it’s a lot of pressure. Everyone’s going to be picking me apart to see if I’m sexy enough to hold this title. I’m [also] following Idris Elba, which is not fair and is not nice to me!”
Along with reflecting on his past victories, the EGOT winner is expecting another addition with his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, 36, with whom he has six-year-old daughter Luna and four-year-old son Miles.
Chrissy revealed the news on her Instagram account while reflecting on the “blur of emotions” they had after the stillbirth of their son, Jack in 2020.
