Arts & Entertainment
People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ Blake Shelton has history of homophobic tweets
the singer posted offensive tweets between 2009-2013
People magazine has named Blake Shelton “Sexiest Man Alive” despite Shelton’s history of homophobic and racist tweets.
Twitter users unearthed tweets Shelton, 41, made between 2009-2013 that were deemed offensive.
“Question for my gay followers… Are skittles y’all’s favorite candy?” reads one tweet.
“Standing in line at a coffee shop in LA talking with the man in front of me,” Shelton wrote in another tweet. “He orders a skinny caramel latte. I couldn’t tell he was gay!!!”
You know what I find sexy in a man? “Being kind of shitty” and “being not very smart.” pic.twitter.com/pyILzW0E18
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) November 15, 2017
Shelton’s tweets were also considered racist with one post reading, “Wish the [expletive] in the next room would either shut up or learn some English so I would at least know what he’s planning to bomb!!”
You know what I find sexy in a man? “Being kind of shitty” and “being not very smart.” pic.twitter.com/pyILzW0E18
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) November 15, 2017
Shelton apologized for his behavior on social media in 2016 calling it “inappropriate and immature.”
“Can my humor at times be inappropriate and immature? Yes. Hateful? Never,” Shelton wrote. “That said I deeply apologize to anybody who may have been offended.”
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) August 17, 2016
In addition to Shelton’s homophobic and racist tweeting past, people seemed generally confused why Shelton was considered the “Sexiest Man Alive.”
Good morning to everyone who is confused as to why Blake Shelton is the sexiest man alive just like me pic.twitter.com/1hitFbPBx1
— ☀️? (@SunnyBunny_54) November 15, 2017
Woke up and saw Blake Shelton is the sexiest man alive. Did a bunch of celebrities die or something last night?
— S?????? D????? (@realBigBalls) November 15, 2017
This is the only appropriate reaction to learning that People’s sexiest man alive is Blake Shelton pic.twitter.com/2MzMEsyY4E
— Molly (@isteintraum) November 15, 2017
Like let’s make a list of every man sexier than Blake Shelton.
1. Oscar Isaac
2. Taika Waititi
3. Jake Gyllenhaal
785. The ghost of Abe Vigoda
786. The Incredible Mr. Limpet, like as a fish
787. Blake Shelton— Courtney Enlow (@courtenlow) November 15, 2017
Blake Shelton is, at best, the sexiest divorced dad at this barbecue
— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) November 15, 2017
Online Culture
Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer
Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters
Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.
According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.
The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.
According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.
The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.
According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”
According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.
The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.
Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.
At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.
Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Photos
PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride
LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.
The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
















Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)



















