This cheeky centerfold of Robbie Williams is the stuff of gay legend - INTO
Take That

This cheeky centerfold of Robbie Williams is the stuff of gay legend

You might know him as a member of the UK boy band Take That, or perhaps you know him for that time he dated Spice Girl Mel C. However you know him, you haven’t seen him like this.

https://twitter.com/PopCulture2000s/status/1827678221074092056

An image of Williams at his cheekiest is circulating once more on Twitter, and we’re being reminded of what it was like to live in a wildly different era, a time when we had to buy print magazines to get our rocks off.

In an early 2000s centerfold, Williams appears pulling his pants down and displaying the family jewels—well, the other family jewels, I guess.

The singer, who once described himself as “49 percent gay” due to his love of musicals (ok…) served as a gay awakening for so many in those dark years.

Imagine being a closeted gay boy and coming across this in the NME…

https://twitter.com/creepy_spice/status/1827744255755849739
https://twitter.com/raeboliCal/status/1827754672548929921

His willingness to bare all was much appreciated in those dark days, when so much as admitting you appreciated the musical stylings of George Michael would get you thrown against a locker.

Robbie Williams, we salute you! May your pants forever stay at half mast.


Henry Giardina (he/they) is the editor of INTO. He lives in Los Angeles. Past publications include the New York Times, The Believer, The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, The Atlantic, Film Comment, and Gizmodo. He is @punkgroucho on Twitter.