Today in “What the Actual F-ck” news, we have Glen Powell, his sister’s friend, black market lotion, and a maybe-cannibal. Glen has set himself up nicely to star in the next Urban Legend movie because he fell for a story that his sister and her friend told him Hookman, line, and sinker. On a recent episode of his friend Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, Glen retold a story about how his sister’s friend supposedly said that she once went out on a date with a guy who gave her “weird vibes.” As the story goes, his sister’s friend went back to the man’s apartment, where he slathered some lotion on her and gave her a back rub. Weirded out, she ended the date early and peaced out. The next day, she started “itching like crazy” and saw a doctor, who discovered that it was a result of “black market lotion that breaks down skin for human consumption.”
Now, at this point, I think most of us would go online and do some research or cry BS, but not poor Glen. He kept going with the story, which ends with doctors urging her to call the cops and report him. When the POPO got to the dude’s place, they discovered that he’d told a lot of women to put that lotion on their skin or else they’d get the hose again. And, according to Glen’s sister’s friend, those poor women didn’t make it. While Glen has never questioned this story, the Internet did, recognizing it from Days of Urban Myths Past. They took to Snopes and Reddit and quickly debunked this story.
During a late May appearance on the “Therapuss” podcast hosted by his workout partner Jake Shane, Powell told a story about how his little sister’s friend got “weird vibes” from a guy on a date – who turned out to be a cannibal, after he gave her a massage with “black market lotion that breaks down skin for human consumption.”
Turns out, the internet fact-checked the claims first and found that the “Top Gun: Maverick” alum’s viral moment was originally an urban myth. According to Snopes, a site that fact checks and debunks urban legends, their first email in this vein dates back to 2001.
Powell jokingly took to X to speak out about the podcast segment that tore the internet apart with speculation.
“Props to my little sister’s friend who told her this dating story…I’ve been telling this for years,” Powell said on X Monday before quipping, “I’m questioning my whole life now… False alarm. Back rubs are back.”
During the original date story, he said his little sister’s friend went to the man’s apartment for the back rub and she got “weird vibes” and left the apartment. The next day, she went to a doctor after her skin started “itching like crazy” and the doctor ran tests which found the “black market lotion.”
“This man was rubbing lotion on her body to eat her, so the doctor’s like ‘You got to give me this person’s address and you should call the police.’ They got to this guy’s house, and he had several girls’ bodies,” Powell told Shane.
Hey, at least Glen took it in stride. He didn’t try to protest or yell some Q-Anon crap about how it’s a cover up and that’s what the government wants us to think. I’m sure he was hella embarrassed to be retelling this story with such conviction, so power on him for not letting his ego get in his way of brushing it off. It would be cool if he ended up in a movie about this one, maybe playing the detective hunting the cannibal down.
I admit, when I first saw this headline, my first thought went to Arnie Hammer and whether or not the sister’s friend ran in the same circles! I’d never heard of this particular urban legend, but it sounds like one from start to finish. What do you guys think is the scariest UL out there? When I was growing up, the only one that ever actually scared me because I believed it was Bloody Mary. I was always that kid at sleepovers who would be like, “But what if we played ‘light as a feather, stiff as a board’ again instead?”
Props to my little sister’s friend who told her this dating story…I’ve been telling this for years. I’m questioning my whole life now…
False alarm.
Back rubs are back. https://t.co/LhdeBjRJRc
— Glen Powell (@glenpowell) June 11, 2024
photos credit: Getty images for Netflix, Josh Huskin
Awww… bless his heart.
I can’t decide how I feel about Powell. He is certainly a good actor. I admire his hustle. I’m just sort of neutral on him. This story doesn’t make me like him any more, though.
I’m also not on the Glen Powell bandwagon. I have absolutely no evidence to think he’s not a perfectly good guy, but the vibes are off. Maybe he’s decent, but just not that bright? I’m with you that this story doesn’t make me like him more.
I haven’t seen him in anything so he might be a great actor and a nice guy but I’m weirded out by how close together his eyes are. 👀
His face looks AI generated to me because of how close set and small his eyes are. He’s much hotter in sunglasses.
That said, I believe it’s our “imperfections” that make us recognizable and without that defining feature, I think he might be a boring generic, interchangeable “handsome man” actor.
I’m looking forward to seeing Twisters when it comes out next month and I hope it’s cheesy fun.
I watched Hitman the other evening – it was cute in a dark way, good performances, not so sure about the plot. But when Glen’s face first came on the screen, I thought “Wait, what’s Luke Wilson doing in this movie?” I don’t think it’s just the eyes, but for both the top of their face is narrower than the jawline.
This is a story that is kinda endearing. Crazy story reshared from a dupe who believed a close person who got it from a ‘friend/relative/site’ – a tale as old as time lol
I think he handled it well. I like him, he’s done some interviews that show just how close he is with his family, and they totally endorse their darkness.
If you haven’t seen him in Devotion, I recommend it.
He’s moving back home to Texas apparently, to be a better Uncle to his nephews, and for some stability. Not a fan of L.A.
Hit Man was good with some unexpected notes I found interesting and a bit quirky. There’s one scene near the end where his two personas are on display at the same time – great scene and he nailed it.
That should have dorkiness, not darkness ^. *facepalm*
Thank you auto-correct, for making the Powell family sound like a bunch of ever-grinning Satanists.
I’ve liked GP well enough in the few other movies I’ve seen him in, but loved him in Hit Man. Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of the movie overall (I wish it had stayed more of a comedy about his job than focusing on the rom com stuff), but he absolutely nailed the part. I think he’s a really good actor.
And I think he handled this incident well, given that it had to be awfully embarrassing for him. How people handle embarrassment says a lot about them IMO.
Hitman is the first film I’ve seen him in and I thought he was good – he pulled off the role well and had a lot of chemistry with his female lead.
It was a quirky movie – interesting and fun.
I saw Hitman 2 days ago, I knew who he was from news sites but I had never actually seen him in anything.
I thought his acting is decent and certainly better than more famous actors.
I love his response. His personality is why he shines in rom-coms. I don’t think he is a classically handsome guy in the least. He has close-set eyes and very thin lips. But he has the charm, cockiness, quick with funny comebacks in his acting for rom-coms that elevates even the crappy rom-coms they are putting out today. That’s when he first stood out to me in a sea of mostly bland rom-coms for today’s generation. He has a natural comic ability in those movies.
Although I did really like Jack Quaid (Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s son) in 2019’s Plus One, with the wonderful Maya Erskine. They also elevated the material, which was a decent script, but it was their chemistry and performances as rom-com leads that sealed it.
Enjoyed Hit Man too and thought he did a great job re Ron and Gary. The clothes and more subtle differences between these two had good attention to detail. Themore exaggerated hit men were well done too and u could tell he had fun with those ones. Overall thought the film was pretty smart but, without giving anything away, the smart college professor could have thought up a smarter, ethical way to solve the problem that presented itself near the end. I liked him in hidden figures; will never see top gun but always thought he gave off like a kind vibe but ppl seem to find his eyes make him look douchey or S/T.