You may think Sen. Ted Cruz is a creepy guy, but folks on social media this week started a viral hashtag to point out how the person standing behind him looked particularly strange.
The man who spurned the hashtag #CreepyGuy on Twitter is Wisconsin State Representative Adam Neylon. Neylon stood behind Cruz during his victory speech after the state’s GOP Primary.
People were disturbed by Neylon’s strange expressions during the speech and the way he stood almost a little too close to Cruz at times. Some people called him Satan, others compared him to Jeffrey Dahmer or Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.” One woman even theorized that he was a plant.
“I think they put that #CreepyGuy behind Cruz to make Cruz seem less creepy,” she wrote.
CNN’s Jeanne Moos tracked down Neylon to talk about his new-found attention. He told Moos that he may have been a little too close to Cruz but added that if he moved back any further he would have fallen off the stage. He also said he wasn’t trying to act strange on purpose.
Neylon, for his part, also said he found a lot of the “Creepy Guy” Tweets to be rather funny.
“We had the silent majority,” he said. “Now I think we have the snarky minority.”
Regardless of the reasons, many took to the hashtag and ran with it. Here’s a few of the more-popular ones:
#TedCruz secret weapon. SATAN! # CREEPY GUY behind Ted in # Wisconsin Primary pic.twitter.com/5clYG1ijfu
— Wayne O'Day (@WayneODay) April 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/snelson2012/status/717533600992862209
Who IS this guy behind #TedCruz? Siamese twin?Puppetmaster? Running mate?#photobomb #FoxNews #creepy #election pic.twitter.com/5IaVOSp7Pu
— Storm & paparazzi (@stormnpaparazzi) April 6, 2016
Neylon now joins the group of people who have gone viral after standing behind candidates this election season. People such as the “Sticker Kid” who was making funny faces with stickers attached to his cheeks, or former candidate Chris Christie, who made several pained expressions as he stood behind Donald Trump. Christie’s moment was so absurd it was later parodied by Saturday Night Live.
In an election year filled with more than a few awkward moments, at least Naylon is able to laugh at himself after being dragged into the fray, even if he did look quite bizarre.
Featured photo via Getty Images/Scott Olson
