On Nov. 8 actor Patrick Dempsey, 54, was finally named “Sexiest Man Alive” for the year of 2023. Dempsey is notoriously known for playing the major role of neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd, or Dr. McDreamy, some would say, on ABC’s hit medical drama show “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2005-2015.  His other famously known acting role is in Walt Disney’s “Enchanted” where he played the lead male character, Robert Philip in 2007. And coming out at the end of the year on Christmas Day is his most recent role as Peiro Taruffi in the upcoming movie “Ferrari,” alongside his co-star Adam Driver. 

There has been some controversy about who should’ve gotten on the front page of People Magazine instead of Dr. McDreamy, but is that really the issue here? Patrick Dempsey has surprisingly never been named “Sexiest Man Alive,” but he has been mentioned as a runner-up in previous issues. In the 2006 issue of People Magazine, George Clooney was named the “Sexiest Man Alive” and Dempsey was a runner-up. Then the following year, 2007, Matt Damon was named the “Sexiest Man Alive” and poor Dempsey was yet again another runner-up. For both of these issues, he still got on the cover, but he got the tiny picture on the bottom of the magazine and not the whole magazine cover.

I think it’s criminal that this is Patrick Dempsey’s first time being named the “Sexiest Man Alive;” His nickname is Dr. McDreamy for gosh sake! Runner-ups to Patrick Dempsey were Pedro Pascal, Timothée Chalamet, Usher, Jamie Foxx, Jason Kelce and Lenny Kravitz. Backlash sprouted throughout the news about Dempsey winning this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” and some expressed their opinion on People Magazine’s Instagram page where they had posted the cover of the magazine issue featuring Dempsey. One Instagram user commented on the Instagram page saying, “Who did they survey? Geriatrics? McDreamy is so 10 years ago. Pedro Pascal should have won,” and another wrote: “Couldn’t be a more irrelevant pick…”.  

Because of his major role as Joel in the hit show, “The Last of Us,” based on the video game bearing the same name, a lot of people were hoping for Pedro Pascal to come out on top. It made me wonder how the “Sexiest Man Alive” gets chosen. According to an article titled “Good Housekeeping” by author Anne O’Sullivan, an editor at People Magazine, Julie Jordan told USA Today that they pay attention to comments and what the general public says about celebrity coverage throughout the year. One example is when Michael B. Jordan clinched the title in 2020. His activism in the Black Lives Matter movement and ambition for fighting for women’s rights played a large role in him being chosen that year. 

Another thing that I would like to bring to mind is out of all the men who have been selected the winner for People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” how many of them are athletes, singers, or politicians? Everyone is concerned about the irrelevance of Patrick Dempsey winning, but what about the relevance of choosing an actor for almost every issue? Since 1985, when Actor Mel Gibson won the first title of the “Sexiest Man Alive,” there have only been five winners who are not actors: John F. Kennedy Jr. (1988), Adam Levine (2013), David Beckham (2015), Blake Shelton (2017) and John Legend (2019). 

I also believe that there should be a rule that once a person wins the title of “Sexiest Man Alive,” they can’t be considered a winner for another issue. Actors like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp have all won the title of “Sexiest Man Alive” twice. It should be a one-and-done kind of thing. Actors Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Henry Cavil, John Stamos, Jason Bateman, Pedro Pascal and Andrew Garfield have yet to win the title. Athletes Shaun White, Lionel Messi and Jason Kelce have yet to win, in addition to singers Harry Styles and Nick Jonas. If there was a set limit of only winning “Sexiest Man Alive” once, then we could’ve seen three different additional males as winners and potentially at least one of the candidates mentioned above. 

Overall, I’m glad Patrick Dempsey was able to finally clinch the title of “Sexiest Man Alive,” for 2023, but I do agree that it should’ve maybe been someone with a little bit more relevance. With that being said, if there was a limit to only being able to win once, then we may have been able to see him be on the front cover in an earlier issue during his time as McDreamy. Additionally, if there was a limit to only being able to win once, then we might’ve been able to see other male candidates who aren’t actors take the coveted title. I’m looking forward to seeing who will come out on top as the “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2024.