You may know Benson Boone as the angel-voiced heartthrob who rocketed to stardom on TikTok, broke us emotionally with his viral ballad Beautiful Things, and cemented his popstar status with his American Heart release. A Washington native with cheekbones that could slice glass and a voice that hugs your trauma gently, Boone has carved out a space somewhere between softboy pop star and Gen Z Greek god.
And now? He’s serving soaked-shirtless-seaside siren in a photo set that has turned Twitter into a gay group chat gone feral.
Picture it: a beach at midnight, the waves teasing the shore like a flirt you met at Pride, and out of the glistening surf emerges Benson Boone—shirtless, grinning, and looking like the genetically-blessed lovechild of a boyband and a Greek statue who’s figured out how to do lighting on Instagram.
Let’s be clear—these photos weren’t just taken. They were summoned.
In the first shot, Boone gives us a dazzling smile that could honestly end wars, if not at least cancel rent. Hair tousled in the way that says “I frolicked”, he looks like the cover star of a YA novel where the plot is mostly just him being hot in different weather. He’s wearing a delicate necklace (grape charms—hello?) that says “I work out but also believe in whimsy.” There’s a natural joy in his expression that makes you want to quote Shakespeare and then immediately swipe right.
And then comes photo number two.
Here, Boone goes full nocturnal thirst trap—a sultry pout, soaking wet curls, and a body so chiseled it looks like he was Photoshopped in real life. His hands are deep in his pockets like he’s about to say something heartbreakingly poetic—or ask you to come swim under the moon. Either way, yes.
This is the new queer-coded softboy masculinity we’ve been thirsting for. He’s not posturing; he’s posing—with humor, with intention, and with just enough “I’m aware of how I look” to let us know he’s in on the bit. And that’s what makes it hit: the camp, the self-awareness, the quiet but confident “I’m hot, but I’m nice about it.”
Benson Boone doesn’t just look like summer romance; he looks like the guy who writes sad songs about you after it’s over—and posts them on TikTok with acoustic guitar in hand. We’ll take it. We’ll take ten.
Naturally, Twitter imploded. The replies turned into a collective meltdown of gay thirst and witty chaos—“He needs to Benson Bone me,” “If I speak I’ll end up on bottom jail,” and “Maybe he can top me” being just the tip of the very flirty iceberg.
So to every queer viewer out there who double-tapped these and whispered “okay but why am I sweating,” know that you are seen. Benson Boone by night is giving us serotonin, sea salt, and just enough chaos to make it queer culture.