Since it is not very often that one can see doctors and scientists on the cover of fashion magazines, it was a surprise for netizens to spot Dr Anthony Fauci landing an interview and a photoshoot for InStyle magazine. Being a coronavirus task force member and America's top health expert on the current pandemic, he appeared on the magazine's cover even before the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump.
"Superhero for some, supermodel for others", some users said, as some genuinely fangirled over the new InStyle cover featuring Fauci delivering a look behind a swimming pool.
In his interview for the piece, Fauci called himself "pretty effective" and "energetic".
“Right now, with all due modesty, I think I’m pretty effective. I certainly am energetic. And I think everybody thinks I’m doing more than an outstanding job", he said.
The cover appeared to only be digital, and some users craved a print copy while confessing love for the now-fashionable doctor.
Some wondered whether Fauci has gone further in his accidental modelling career.
Others suggested that Time magazine should name the unflappable doctor as its Person of the Year.
Some netizens suggested that US Trump might not like Fauci's appearance in InStyle and recalled that the first lady has avoided magazine covers.
Some visualized how it could be.
However, not everyone on Twitter were members of the Fauci fanclub, with some slamming him for not wearing a mask for the photoshoot and accepting the role of supermodel when he is expected, in their eyes, to be a "scientist in the middle of pandemic".
Earlier, Fauci clarified that his comment of not wearing masks, which he explained in the interview as an urge to "save the masks for the people who need them most", referred to medical personnel on the frontlines, as, according to him, the task force was told that "we have a serious problem with the lack of PPEs and masks for the health providers".