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Jake Shane is showing his support for Role Model following his Sexiest Man Alive feature.
Speaking to PEOPLE on the red carpet of the Baby2Baby Gala on Saturday, Nov. 8, the Therapuss podcaster, 26, shared his excitement for his longtime friend’s centerfold in PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive issue.
“Well, he called me and he said he was doing a centerfold for PEOPLE, and I was like ‘No, you’re not, PEOPLE doesn’t do centerfolds.’ But apparently they do,” Shane says, referring to a viral PEOPLE video in which the musician (born Tucker Pillsbury) called Shane to announce the news.
“He looks amazing, and it’s amazing. And he finally got what he wanted,” Shane jokes, referring to Role Model’s playful (and now-squashed) “beef” with PEOPLE. “That just is proof that complaining gets you everywhere.”
Jake Shane/Instagram
Speaking to PEOPLE for the annual Sexiest Man Alive issue in October, Role Model, 28, recounted how he came to (jokingly) make an enemy out of the brand.
“Nominations came out for Sexiest Man Alive, all the little micro-categories and whatnot, and to my surprise, Sexiest Musician… my face was on there, alongside Zach Bryan, Shaboozey and, of course, Harry Styles. I thought, ‘Wow, incredible moment. I’m dedicating the next three months to this,’ ” he explained, joking that he cared more about SMA than a Grammy Award.
“And I did, very publicly. And my argument was always this: Obviously, Harry Styles is in the lead, just off the bat. I love everyone in there, but Harry Styles already had a lead. How cool would it have been to let the underdog win — me? Harry Styles has everything. He’s got a brand. He’s got to be almost touching a billion dollars at this point. Sold-out shows, an amazing career, beautiful looks,” Role Model quipped. “He doesn’t need this. I needed it, and it was taken from me.”
Jonny Marlow
Shane and the rocker have also been candid about their friendship — and have even jokingly egged on rumors about a connection between the pair that eventually led to the creation of Role Model’s “Sally” concert segments, during which a special celebrity guest joins him onstage for a performance of the hit track “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”
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“There’s a weird narrative online somehow that ‘Sally’ was about Jake Shane, so I was like, ‘Let’s play into this,'” Role Model shared during his SMA interview. “So he came out and people loved that.”
“And then the next show came and we were like, ‘Maybe we should just do this with fans every night,’ and make it a ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ type of vibe, but more wholesome. It kind of took off from there. It’s my favorite part of the set now,” he added.
Role Model has appeared twice on Shane’s Therapuss podcast, which in part prompted fan speculation about the influencer’s role in shaping the song.
The “Sally” moment has spurred a viral online phenomenon. Since then, Role Model has had everyone from Shane to Kate Hudson and Natalie Portman as his “Sally.”
