Critics of Fox News host Tucker Carlson were surprised by the strikingly homoerotic nature of the trailer for his upcoming “documentary” about what he calls the “collapse” in testosterone levels in men.
The steamy trailer for the first episode of his new season of “Tucker Carlson Originals” features a series of shots of half-naked, muscular (white) men. They pump rubber, chop wood, grill, shoot a gun — and wrestle — accompanied by the soaring, thumping musical theme “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” which became widely popular in the 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Curiously, many of the men’s faces are blurred or hidden. In one scene, a naked man with arms outstretched and genitals lit up stands behind what an observer said looked like a… charging Tesla station.
Daily Beast journalist Justin Baragona joked in a tweet that the trailer would get Carlson “arrested” when he broadcast it in a Florida classroom, where it is now illegal to address sexual orientation in primary schools in schools.
“Are fascists going out on Tucker’s weird video?” wondered Walter Shaub, former director of the US Office of Government Ethics in the Obama and (briefly) Trump administrations. “A man shoves his junk into a light box, a narrator says ‘hard’ repeatedly, a spout of water like beer in a frat house, two squirm shirtless…”
Others couldn’t help but hear echoes of Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.
Carlson warns in an episode promo about the impending “end of the men,” the episode’s title. He states: “One of the greatest stories of our lives is the… Total Testosterone Collapse levels in American men.” He promises to share secrets on how to prevent that. (Someone on Twitter recommended to watch the trailer a few times†
Testosterone levels in American men — and around the world — have been declining for decades, which scientists have attributed to factors such as aging, poorer health, lack of exercise and obesity. Research has also shown that testosterone levels are lowered by pollution, which Carlson generally doesn’t seem concerned about.
Who knows what the actual documentary will reveal? But the trailer alone was inspiring to countless Twitter minds.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
