Early Sunday morning, veteran reporter Geraldo Rivera tweeted a picture of himself wearing nothing but a pair of rose-colored glasses, a very low towel and a smile. On Monday morning he quickly offered up an explanation for the random selfie on his syndicated radio show saying tequila and loneliness made him do it and, “It seemed like a great idea at the time.”
The photo was taken down the next day, reportedly at the request of his employer, Fox News. Oh, Geraldo, you silly, you just learned a valuable lesson. Once you post something on the internet it never goes away – ever.
Once the revealing picture, accompanied by the caption “70 is the new 50,” started making the rounds on Twitter, the immediate reaction was something akin to what Geraldo’s own 18-year-old son was texting to dear ole Dad the next morning, “TAKE THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW.”
Well, Geraldo, it worked. I completely forgot about Capone’s vault.
— Alex Baze (@bazecraze) July 21, 2024
and
If I see one more half naked “selfie” posted by anyone over the age of 50 I’m going to chew my arm off . . UGH. Thanks #Geraldo
— Eric Corwin (@EricCorwin1) July 23, 2024
Honestly, once we got over the shockingly low towel position in the photo, we applauded Geraldo for his obvious commitment to diet and fitness. Other men his age might be frail, thin and withering or suffering from obesity, but Rivera is clearly making the health of his body a priority. The photo would be far more troubling if the towel were obscured by a front paunch.
Selfies are all the rage right now, but is it appropriate for the boomer generation get on board? Alexandra Williams, fitness author and co-creator of Fun and Fit: Healthy Aging for Boom Chicka Boomers, weighed in on Geraldo’s gif gaffe.
“I am definitely a fan of good-looking 70-year-old men showing off their hot stuff,” she said. “I’m in my 50s and I would be uncomfortable drooling over a 20- or 30-year-old man. But a man in my general age bracket who’s in good shape – I’m all for that.”
Alexandra went on to say, “We boom-chicka-boomers need eye candy, too! And the fitness pro in me thinks [Geraldo’s picture] sets a good example for healthy living when all generations can see that fitness, strength, and health don’t disappear in the second half! Come to think of it, maybe I’ll do a pose like that when I turn 70. We cannot redefine what healthy and sexy are if we are invisible!”
We’re happy to discover that Geraldo is making good choices about how to treat his aging body, we just think he needs to make better decisions about what he does with that body, particularly when he’s holding tequila and a camera-equipped cell phone.
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image via @GeraldoRivera