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A male beauty influencer broke the internet this week after posting a thirst trap on social media.
Manny MUA (real name Manuel Gutierrez Jr.) shared a photo of himself dressed up as the DC Comics superheroNightwing for Halloween this week.
The 34-year-old YouTuber, who is openly gay, is best known for his flamboyant sense of style and glamorous, heavy makeup, but the Halloween selfie showed him with a much more masculine appearance than before.
Manny’s muscular frame was hard to miss in the photo and his naturally handsome features were more clearly visible without a face full of makeup on.
The photo quickly racked up 16million impressions on X (formerly Twitter), with social media users expressing their shock over his transformation.
‘Wait he looks better without makeup. That 2016 beat is just not for everyone,’ commented one.
‘Just let out the biggest gasp today after seeing the name,’ wrote another.
‘Why are people suddenly realizing that Manny is not only a man but has his masc moments, he just happened to be a beauty YouTuber,’ wrote a third.
Beauty influencer Manny MUA (pictured) went viral on social media after sharing a photo of himself dressed up as Nightwing
The flamboyant YouTube star is pictured with a more feminine look in 2017
Another complained, ‘The amount of femphobia in the quotes and replies completely proves my point. a lot of yall don’t see feminine men as real men and that’s the issue.’
Manny himself addressed the debate around his looks in a follow-up post on X, writing, ‘Btw I’ve looked like this for years… it’s the internalized homophobia that didn’t let you see past the makeup.’
The beloved makeup guru first shot to fame on YouTube as a teenager.
He went on to become the first male brand ambassador to star in aMaybelline campaign.
‘I’m a member of the LGBTQ community, and I feel like we need more representation,’ he told Glamour magazine at the time.
‘In the makeup world, especially, it has always been really, really hard for men in beauty to kind of be seen in a way beyond being a “fad.”‘
Manny was set to become a surgeon and was heading to medical school when he decided to follow his heart by pursuing a career in makeup instead.
When he started his YouTube channel in 2014, Manny took his belief that ‘makeup is genderless and has no rules’ and ran with it, he revealed on Good Morning Britain.
Longtime fans have been shocked at the 34-year-old’s masculine makeover
Manny has changed up his look over the years after bulking up at the gym
‘Growing up in a religious household can be very hectic… Beauty helped me come into my own,’ he said.
‘It was actually really, really hard in the beginning when my family first found out – I wanted to be a doctor – a plastic surgeon,’ he continued.
‘It was really hard but they finally came around.’
Discussing his genderless approach to makeup and beauty, Manny said, ‘That’s the fun part about it, whether you’re a boy or a girl, I feel like makeup is truly for anyone.’
He continued, ‘It doesn’t have to be as loud as mine. If you wanna cover up a pimple, if you wanna wear some concealer to cover up some darkness, wanna wear some bronzer on rainy day. That’s how makeup works.
‘You don’t need to conform to rules you don’t need to wear lashes. Take what applies to you, what you really, really like and use it. That goes for anyone.’
