Glen Powell reacts to viral cannibal dating story being debunked: 'I'm questioning my whole life now'
"False alarm. Back rubs are back."
Glen Powell is sorry about ruining back rubs with his cannibal lotion story — but in his defense, he really believed it.
During his appearance on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, the Hit Man star advised listeners to check their "cannibal instincts" before swiping right on dating apps by telling the so-called true story of a woman who accidentally dated a man who wanted to eat her. The internet was promptly whipped into a frenzy but thankfully, Powell’s tale has been debunked.
On Monday, the actor reposted an article revealing that his favorite cannibal anecdote is just a years-old urban legend.
"Props to my little sister’s friend who told her this dating story,” Powell wrote on X. “I’ve been telling this for years. I’m questioning my whole life now…”
Nicola Gell/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Glen PowellPrior to learning the truth, Powell eagerly presented the story as a cautionary tale.
"Want to hear a crazy story?" he began on the May 22 podcast episode. "I'm gonna tell you this story and then I'm gonna let my sister fact check. I hope I'm telling it correctly."
Powell went on to explain that his sister, Leslie, was friends with a woman who once went on a date with a “super charming guy” but started getting “weird vibes” after he invited her back to his place.
"She goes back to his apartment that night and he's like, ‘Hey can I give you a massage?’” Powell recalled. “She was like, ‘Something feels off.’ So she's like, 'Sure' and he starts massaging her shoulders. Everything is feeling odd and she’s like, ‘I gotta get out of here.’ She leaves."
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That’s where the twist comes in. "Her skin starts itching like crazy the next day," Powell said. "She goes to the doctor and he does a test on her skin, and it turns out that it's a black market lotion that breaks down skin for human consumption.”
As Shane gasped in shock, Powell continued, “This man was rubbing lotion on her body to eat her. So the doctor’s like, ‘You've got to give me this person's address and you should call the police.’ They go to this guy’s house, and he had several girls’ bodies in the house.”
After a clip of Powell telling the frightening story went viral, internet sleuths connected it to an old tale known as “Romantic Encounter with a Necrophiliac.” According to the fact-checking website Snopes, the story dates back to 2001 and has evolved several times over the years — including Powell's iteration about black market cannibal lotion.
Upon learning the truth, the actor tweeted a message to the lotion-lovers who have been living in fear: “False alarm. Back rubs are back.”
True story or not, you can see Powell talk cannibalism in the podcast episode above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
