The Hollywood jokester has become the joke. Ryan Reynolds, famous for being the funny guy on Twitter, was the butt of a very real Christmas prank. While the star of Deadpool is accustomed to getting trolled by his wife, actress Blake Lively, this time the joke came from actors Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine co-star, Jackman, invited Reynolds to an “ugly sweater party” but there was one thing that he left out on the invitation – the dress code only applied to him.
People loved the idea:
This isn’t the first time Hugh Jackman And Ryan Reynolds were involved in a troll battle
One mismatch carries the joke
A group photograph establishes an expectation of belonging together. The sweater breaks that visual agreement in one obvious place, so the reader understands the gag before needing much background. The expressions then supply a second layer of comic performance.
The public photograph and the caption attached to it show the joke; they do not reveal every private conversation behind the setup. Nor should old follower counts or celebrity biographical details be mistaken for current information. As a piece of visual humor, the image is unusually economical: three people, one apparent dress-code misunderstanding and a central figure whose outfit makes the punchline immediately readable.
The public image is already a small performance
Reynolds’s outfit and the others’ presentation make the apparent dress-code mismatch readable immediately. The photograph works even for someone unfamiliar with their earlier jokes. That economy is worth noticing: the setup can be explained in a sentence, while the image carries the comic contrast without needing a detailed account of private intentions.
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The prank and what came of it
Reynolds posted the photograph on Instagram on 20 December 2018, captioning it “These f*cking assholes said it was a sweater party.” Jackman and Gyllenhaal had told him he was going to a Christmas sweater party; Reynolds, then 42, turned up in a sweater decorated as a present, with a large gold bow and a tag addressed to the two men; it was not a costume party, and he was the only one in a holiday sweater. A second photograph showed them slapping hands.
The following December Reynolds turned the prank into a fundraiser for the SickKids Foundation in Toronto, pledging to match donations made by midnight on 24 December. An animated video retold the story of a red and green sweater with a large bow that a man buys for a party, only to be laughed at by his friends in normal clothes. Jackman joined in by wearing the outfit himself.
Sources: Daily Hive, 22 December 2018: Ryan Reynolds tricked into wearing ugly Christmas sweater by celeb buddies CTV News Toronto: Ryan Reynolds uses last year’s ugly Christmas sweater prank to raise money for SickKids
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