Glen Powell Was Duped By A Cannibal-Related Dating Horror Story

Glen Powell went viral after he shared a particularly scary dating story on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast. According to the Anyone But You actor, his little sister’s friend had detailed an unnerving experience to him: She went home with a guy on a first date, he gave her a back rub, and the lotion he used caused serious itching. When she went to the doctor the next day, they ran a test, and then told her it was “a black market lotion that breaks down skin for human consumption.” As the story goes, the guy was a cannibal and had bodies hidden in his home.

On June 8, Buzzfeed debunked Powell’s story. The article cited Snopes — a site that fact checks these types of rumors — as proving this particular cannibal story false. It’s actually a common scary story that’s been making the rounds for years.

Powell responded to Buzzfeed’s article on X, formerly called Twitter. “Props to my little sister’s friend who told her this dating story,” he wrote. “I’ve been telling this for years. I’m questioning my whole life now…”

ICYMI, Powell originally told this story as a way to give advice to one of the podcast’s listeners, who wrote in questioning if she should go on a weekend-long date with a dating app match. “So before this woman goes on a date with a guy on Bumble just for the weekend and the whole thing, check your cannibal instincts,” he suggested.

Although this cannibal-related dating horror story is just an urban legend, it’s still a good idea to continue to “check your cannibal instincts” before all romantic encounters. When he cleared up the sitch on X, Powell also issued a new message to everyone keeping tabs on this particular tale: “False alarm. Back rubs are back.”

Following Powell’s tweet, fans responded. “i’m so glad ‘i was told this and i thought it was true so i told everyone but it’s not true and now i feel stupid’ is a universal experience,” one wrote on X. Another replied, “love that you never questioned the authenticity of this story.”