Stop telling people they shouldn’t have a crush on Zelensky

God forbid we all start believing in heroes again

The political leaders of my time haven’t made it easy to believe in heroes. Donald Trump incited an insurrection. Boris Johnson attended more parties in the throes of the pandemic than I did during all of my twenties. Emmanuel Macron has overseen the introduction of laws many describe as outright Islamophobic.

We’ve been holding out for a hero – and holding out, and holding out, and holding out. Time and time again, our leaders have disappointed us. They rose to power and behaved in unbelievably selfish, self-serving ways. It made sense to become disillusioned.

And then came Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ah, Zelensky. This is a man who, up until a few days ago, wasn’t exactly a household name in the US. (Maybe you knew who he was, but did you know he used to be a comedian? Did you know he literally played a president on TV before becoming the actual president of Ukraine? Did you know he voiced Paddington the bear in not one but two films? I didn’t.) When Russia invaded his country, Zelensky stayed. He stood his ground, reportedly refusing offers to be airlifted out by the US and instead saying that he needed “ammunition, not a ride”.

One video, of Zelensky and other members of his cabinet standing in the streets of Kyiv on February 25th, particularly stands out. In it, the Ukrainian president assures the world that they are still “all here”. “We defend our independence. That’s how it will go,” Zelensky says in the clip. “Glory to our defenders, both male and female. Glory to Ukraine.” I can’t recall seeing a leader who was supposed to represent me taking action in such a direct and obvious way. It’s mainly been men in suits, standing behind podiums and saying words, and retreating to private and protected sanctums when the going gets tough.

Zelensky has been a brave and present wartime leader. Videos of his addresses have gone viral; ditto clips of his past performances as a comedian. We have witnessed the making of a hero on the world stage, in real time. We have also witnessed something that’s made a few commentators profoundly uncomfortable: an international Volodymyr Zelensky crush.

Yes, social media accounts in the past few days have been awash with people professing their attraction to Ukraine’s president. It’s become so common to talk admiringly about the former actor’s good looks and charismatic qualities that there’s even been a backlash. “Women go wild for ‘thirst trap’ Ukrainian President Zelensky on TikTok,” read one New York Post headline. “Enough with the Zelensky thirst,” pleaded Jezebel.

But is publicly crushing on Zelensky while Russian tanks roll into Ukraine actually problematic?

To get one thing out of the way: of course people are going to be compelled by a man who used to be a comedian and is now standing up for his country against an invasion. Zelensky has remained on the ground alongside his people, at great personal risk. His commitment and his patriotism is proof that a different version of leadership is possible; that we don’t have to accept that our leaders will hide in bunkers when stuff gets hard. That a comedian who once purported to play the piano with his genitals can also display the kind of steely determination that is desperately needed in times of conflict is also compelling. It shows that heroism comes in many forms.

In troubled times, we find comfort in the idea that heroes may still walk among us. Sometimes, it backfires spectacularly (the Cuomosexual experiment in the early days of the pandemic comes to mind). So many politicians have poisoned the well, manipulating voters to serve their own interests, that we’ve become deeply cynical. When Donald Trump won in 2016, many people explained voting for the already-scandal-ridden former TV star by shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Well, they all do it.” In other words: What’s the point of believing anyone anymore? We may as well try something different and see what happens.

We have lost sight of the fact that our leaders are supposed to be admirable. They’re supposed to be role models. They are supposed to take the high road.

Admiration doesn’t have to mean blind adoration. Before the conflict, Zelensky faced criticism in Ukraine – chiefly for not talking to the media enough, and preferring to use his own platforms instead of established channels of communication. And in July 2021, activists threw a rave outside of Zelensky’s office to urge him to clarify his stance on LGBT+ rights. We can hold all of this in our minds and still value Zelensky’s courage in the way he has led his country’s fight against Russia.

We can acknowledge, too, that there is a PR war going on. Vladimir Putin is given to relying on oddly masculinist propaganda to ensure he stays in power and to project a certain image. Zelensky, in contrast, urged Ukrainians not to put up photographs of him but to instead put up photos of their own families to motivate them every day. Images of him kneeling in military fatigues and sharing food with soldiers during the past week’s conflict are intended to seem relatable rather than imperious. Now that Russia has waged war against Ukraine, is it a bad thing for people to know Zelensky’s name, to share photos and videos of him, and to publicly profess their admiration for him as a person as well as the country he stands for?

Lastly, it’s important to acknowledge that we can do multiple things at once. We can crush on Zelensky and we can donate to Ukraine; we can care about the fate of the president and of the thousands of refugees in need of our compassion and our aid at the same time. Let people have a hero — even if they thirst after him.