People have a general idea of what a sex symbol looks like, but the internet has given the title of ‘CEO of Sex’ to none other than Spider-Man star Jacob Batalon.
Batalon has mostly been quiet about the memes of him in a suit saying he’s the Jeff Bezos of Fornication, but now he says that it’s just an honor to be part of the joke.
“It’s an Honor”
In a recent interview with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan to promote Novocaine, Batalon was asked what he thought about being called the ‘CEO of Sex’, to which he replied, “First of all, it’s an honor. I feel like people come to me for sex advice all the time (laughs)”
When asked about what Batalon thought when he first saw the meme, he replied, “Honestly, not sure. It kinda seems like it was an ironic thing. But also, I mean, I’m not going to turn it down. Also my fiancée was just like, very much intrigued by it… she’s like, ‘Wait, I don’t want to get into this,’ but now she’s engaged.”
Start of a Meme
The meme started back in 2019 when a photo of Batalon in a gray suit was shared with the caption saying “I’m the CEO of Sex”. The meme itself is meant to be a shitpost without any real sense, but it started a trend of the same photo of Batalon with several different captions—usually with the premise that he’s some kind of rich party animal who’s deep into recreational drugs and casual sex.
CEO of Sex isn’t the only Batalon meme either. In 2021, a set photo of Batalon as Ned in Spider-Man: Homecoming was also going around, and people had been photoshopping Batalon into all kinds of posters and memes—sometimes even remixing it with the CEO of Sex meme.
It’s not clear what new meme Batalon will pop in next, but it has been said that his next movie actually references the CEO of Sex meme—speaking of which…
What’s Batalon Up to Now?
For now, it looks like Batalon is going to be taking a break from Marvel, with Spider-Man: No Way Home effectively cutting out Peter Parker from everyone he loves. Some fans have suggested that the movies take time to have Peter be alone for a while, and this is probably the reason why Batalon (and maybe even Zendaya) won’t be in Spider-Man 4.
In the meantime though, Batalon has found himself cast opposite of The Boys star Jack Quaid who is the star of the action movie Novocaine. By the looks of the trailer, Batalon is playing Quaid’s best friend, and he has a penchant for covering his home in all kinds of traps. It’s not clear if Batalon is going to be another ‘guy in the chair’, but it’s great that he’s getting some work while Ned Leeds is going to be on hiatus for the MCU.
Watch out for Batalon in Novocaine which is now out in theaters.