Featured Image Credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Canada, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Canada, Entertainment
A drag artist has claimed responsibility for Jim Carrey's viral appearance at the Cesar Film Awards ceremony in Paris last week.
Carrey, 64, attended the star-studded event with his daughter Jane, grandson Jackson and girlfriend Mina on Thursday (26 February), where he was bestowed a Cesar d'honneur accolade, in recognition of his impressive acting career.
It wasn't the Canadian-American actor's award win, however - nor his acceptance speech, delivered entirely in French with a thick American accent - that set tongues wagging on the night. It was his appearance.
The public outing marked the first for Carrey since November of last year, and he was seen sporting a considerably longer hairstyle than his long-standing fans have been accustomed to.
Advert
The unexpected change-up kick-started what became something of a viral conspiracy theory that The Mask actor had been 'swapped out' for someone else. Some eagle-eyed theorists even claimed his eye colour had changed.
"Is that actually him?" one asked, before another replied, "I don’t know what it is, but he looks different."
Others defended the Hollywood veteran amid the speculation, with one fan gushing: "We love to see Jim this happy and at peace."
Another noted: "He's looking good."
It didn't take long before the online debate reached the ears of drag artist and prosthetics professional, Alexis Stone, who later claimed they were behind Carrey's controversial look the whole time.
For those unfamiliar with Stone, they're a British make-up artist whose artistry allows them to impersonate some of the world's biggest stars using clay, paint and prosthetics. With a staggering 1.3 million followers on Instagram, they're constantly in the headlines for their indistinguishable celebrity looks.
Recently, Stone attended a Balenciaga fashion show in Paris looking the spitting image of Jack Nicholson, and days earlier, rocked up to a Jean Paul Gaultier event as Lana Del Ray.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday (1 Mar), however, they shared a series of snaps showing Carrey attending this year's Cesar Film Awards, followed by what appears to be an AI-generated image of an entire head mask - complete with eye, nostril and mouth holes - and a set of false teeth.
"Alexis Stone as Jim Carrey in Paris," they teased in the caption.
Though many of the artist's long-time fans were able to wrap their heads around the joke being made, for some others, it seems to have flown right over their heads.
"I can’t handle any more stress right now i need to know if this is real," one demanded.
Another added: "I need video evidence immediately."
"I’m so f*cking confused with the internet right now," a third confessed.