Time after time, fans declare a celebrity to be “unrecognizable.”
But what happens when a beloved actor is fully recognizable, but something seems vaguely off?
All sorts of rumors — some as unhinged as human cloning — circulated following Jim Carrey’s recent time on stage.
Did he send a stunt double to give a speech in another language and accept his award?
There’s just something a little different …
On Thursday, February 26, Carrey delighted the crowd at the César Awards in Paris.
There, he received honors and delivered a speech in French to the audience.
Director Michel Gondry introduced him on stage.
Carrey gave a shout-out to his partner, telling his girlfriend: “Thank you to my sublime companion, Min Ah. I love you.”
However, following his appearance at the show, a curious kind of buzz began to circulate online.
Simply put, Carrey looks a little different, here.
Most online commenters were sort of vague about what seemed different. Others were hyper-specific.
His cheekbones look very rounded and smooth. The sides of his jaw are, perhaps, a little more textured than they once were.
Not for nothing, but this is the best hair that Carrey has ever had.
On top of everything else, he moved his jaws differently when forcing his mouth to do the unthinkable — speak in French.
Was that not the real man? Was that an imposter? A stunt double? A CLONE?
We hope that we do not have to explain to anyone that human cloning is not real yet. The tech isn’t there.
(And, if we did have functional human cloning tech, we’d be using it to grow replacement organs — not impersonate celebrities for vague conspiratorial reasons that only make sense to those suffering from delusions.)
However, it is tragically normal for human bodies to age and, yes, even change over time. Especially when that person is 64.
That has not stopped wild speculation to suggest that, perhaps by means of Mission Impossible face mask technology, someone had stepped in to impersonate Carrey in front of the crowd, viewers at home, and his more-than-half-a-dozen guests.
A prank that makeup artist Alexis Stone — Elliot Joseph Rentz — played on Instagram after the fact didn’t help.
Stone’s Instagram post showed a combination of actual photos of Carrey alongside makeup props that one could conceivably use to mimic his appearance.
This included an elaborate face mask and even a wig.
Stone’s page is full of steal-their-look feats.
This, however, appears to have been merely a prank.
It fooled some people, though!
What is the truth?
It is wild to live through a time when it feels like the very concept of truth is actively being killed before our eyes. But the truth does exist.
Carrey’s publicist, Marleah Leslie, has confirmed to TMZ that “Jim Carrey attended the César Awards, where he accepted his Honorary César Award.”
We can’t think of a better place to accept a César Award, to be honest.
Additionally, a delegate of the César Awards confirmed his attendance to Variety.
It’s really useful to be able to differentiate between things that are real and pretend. Human cloning is not yet real. Mission Impossible face masks aren’t, either. What reason would he have for either even if he could?