X user @CostelloWilliam posted the poll two days later, asking his followers: “Do you think he looks better before or after? Are you male or female?” and just under 5,000 people voted. Three days after that, another X user, @justalexoki, went viral when he shared his disbelief that most women who had voted said they preferred Olly’s body in the before picture. For reference, 27% of women who voted opted for the before photo, while just 7% said after. On the other hand, 43% of men who voted preferred the after photo.
Sharing a screenshot of the poll result alongside the original photos, the second X user wrote: “why are women lying about this? like what’s the actual cause?” in a tweet that has since been seen more than 86 million times.
For the most part, both sides have argued why one photo is better than the other, which has included making personal comments about Olly’s physical features — referencing everything from his height to his hairline.
But, to a greater extent, the tweet also triggered a broader conversation about how men discredit women’s opinions. One of the most popular quote-tweets is from a woman, and reads: “We’re not lying. Men cater to the male gaze more often than they realize.”
And now, Olly has had his say about his gym photos going so viral, particularly the criticism that he has faced for either one — serving as a stark reminder that there are often very real people, with feelings, behind viral online discourse.
Taking to his Instagram page on Wednesday, Olly shared a photo of a newspaper article about the viral tweet, which had the headline: “Bad luck, Olly! Women prefer your ‘huggable dad bod’ to the muscles you got in the gym.”
What do you make of Olly’s response? Let me know in the comments below!