Spider-Man: Brand New Day CEO of Sex meme mean
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Here’s what ‘CEO of S*x’ meme means as it’s gone viral again after Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Even Tom Holland was confused by it

Suchismita Ghosh
7th August 2026, 12:45
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Every time you think the internet has finally moved on from an old meme, it somehow comes back even bigger, and that’s exactly what’s happened with the “CEO of Sex” meme after Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

If you’ve suddenly seen people calling Jacob Batalon “the CEO of Sex” all over TikTok, Twitter and Instagram and have absolutely no idea what’s going on, here’s the full explanation.

Right, here’s what the ‘CEO of Sex’ meme actually means

The meme is all about Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned Leeds in the MCU’s Spider-Man films. It all started back in 2019 when a photo of Batalon wearing a grey suit at the Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere started going viral. It first appeared on the OKBR subreddit as a simple image macro. Before long, the photo spread across Reddit, Instagram, and pretty much everywhere else online.

The format also became known as “Jacob Batalon Saying Things” or “You Seem Chill”, with people adding random captions as if he was handing out life or dating advice.

Over the years, the meme evolved way beyond one image. People started making fake movie posters, edits and videos, all joking that Batalon was somehow the internet’s biggest sex symbol.  Eventually, someone jokingly gave him the title “CEO of Sex”, and the nickname just stuck.

The whole joke is completely ironic. Basically, people pretend Batalon is some kind of ultimate “rizz” expert or romantic icon, even though that’s obviously the point of the meme. Over the years, it’s turned into one of the internet’s longest-running Spider-Man jokes.

The image has been turned into loads of different memes, edits and even fake movie posters. Some people simply reply “CEO of Sex” whenever Jacob Batalon posts online.

So, why is it suddenly everywhere again?

The meme has had a huge comeback thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. During the film’s press tour, a fan actually showed Tom Holland the meme while he was signing autographs. The moment went viral because Holland looked completely confused and admitted he’d never seen it before. Then, it was brought up again during a red carpet interview with Holland, introducing even more people to the joke.

Jacob Batalon has also been asked about it himself. Speaking to ScreenRant in 2025, he said receiving the title was “an honour.” He also joked, “I feel like people come to me for sex advice all the time.”

More recently, at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere, Entertainment Tonight asked him about it again. Batalon admitted he still wasn’t entirely sure what the meme was actually about. But he said he was “flattered” by all the attention.

Even Sony has joined in

The funniest part in all of this is that Sony has actually leaned into the joke. Ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Sony released a promotional video starring Batalon as Ned Leeds giving a fake “Ned Talk”, a parody of a TED Talk. The video was titled “A message from Founder & CEO, Ned Leeds” on some of Sony’s official channels.

They never actually mentioned the meme by name. But loads of people immediately realised it was almost certainly a nod to the viral joke.

So, one of the internet’s weirdest Spider-Man memes is officially mainstream now. And after nearly six years, it’s somehow isn’t going anywhere.

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Featured image credit: Sony Pictures/Instagram.