Mark Zuckerberg says sunscreen photos were a failed attempt to disguise himself from photographers


Mark Zuckerberg claims the images of him plastered in sunscreen was part of a failed attempt to disguise himself from photographers while surfing in Hawaii. 

Pictures of the Facebook CEO taken in July last year sparked a wave of memes across the internet by Twitter users who dubbed him the ‘mime surfer’ and suggested he had been taking fashion tips from a snake.  

Now Zuckerberg has claimed he ‘put a ton of sunscreen on my face’ in a plan that ‘backfired’ to avoid being recognized. The tech billionaire said he was ‘happy to give the internet some laughs’ as a result. 

Speaking during an Instagram live with its CEO Adam Mosseri he said: ‘I really should have thought that one through more.

‘I noticed there was this paparazzi guy following us and, so I was like, ‘Oh I don’t want him to recognize me so you know what I’m gonna do? I’m just gonna put a ton of sunscreen on my face.’ And that backfired.

‘The delta between how cool you think you look and the worst photo a paparazzi can take is pretty funny.’ 

‘No one needs to be wearing that much sunscreen. If someone wants to post a sunscreen meme, it’s cool. I’m happy to give the internet some laughs.

‘I’m glad people can laugh about it. I laugh about it and I think it’s pretty funny.’

Mark Zuckerberg says the images of him plastered in sunscreen was part of a failed attempt to disguise himself from photographers while surfing in Hawaii

Mark Zuckerberg says the images of him plastered in sunscreen was part of a failed attempt to disguise himself from photographers while surfing in Hawaii

Pictures of the Facebook CEO taken in July last year sparked a wave of memes across the internet by Twitter users who dubbed him the 'mime surfer' and suggested he had been taking fashion tips from a snake

Pictures of the Facebook CEO taken in July last year sparked a wave of memes across the internet by Twitter users who dubbed him the ‘mime surfer’ and suggested he had been taking fashion tips from a snake

Now Zuckerberg has claimed he 'put a ton of sunscreen on my face' in a plan that 'backfired' to avoid being recognized. The tech billionaire said he was 'happy to give the internet some laughs' as a result

Now Zuckerberg has claimed he ‘put a ton of sunscreen on my face’ in a plan that ‘backfired’ to avoid being recognized. The tech billionaire said he was ‘happy to give the internet some laughs’ as a result

At the time the images were taken Zuckerberg was compared online to The Joker, Mrs Doubtfire, the moon and a lizard. 

Zuckerberg has previously spoken about the pictures in September last year but failed to mention the attempted disguise then. 

According to a leaked Q&A with employees then he said: ‘I’m not a person who’s under the illusion that I look particularly cool at any point with what I’m doing.

‘But when you’re eFoiling down the coast of Hawaii, and it’s beautiful and it just feels like it’s awesome — and then you come back online and you see that’s the photo, that’s what you look like — it’s like, OK. Alright. That’s maybe quite a bit more sunscreen than I thought I was wearing.

‘I’m not going to apologize for wearing too much sunscreen. I think that sunscreen is good, and I stand behind that.’ 

Zuckerberg has claimed he 'put a ton of sunscreen on my face' in a plan that 'backfired' to avoid being recognized. The tech billionaire said he was 'happy to give the internet some laughs' as a result

Speaking during an Instagram live with its CEO Adam Mosseri he said: 'I really should have thought that one through more

Zuckerberg has claimed he ‘put a ton of sunscreen on my face’ in a plan that ‘backfired’ to avoid being recognized. The tech billionaire said he was ‘happy to give the internet some laughs’ as a result. Speaking during an Instagram live with its CEO Adam Mosseri he said: ‘I really should have thought that one through more

Sharing footage from the interview on Instagram, Zuckerberg wrote: 'As long as the world keeps turning, the memes keep churning'

Sharing footage from the interview on Instagram, Zuckerberg wrote: ‘As long as the world keeps turning, the memes keep churning’

Mosseri and Zuckerberg also discussed their children, Instagram’s future and Facebook’s poke button during the Instagram live.  

After pictures of his over zealous sunscreen application went viral last year, journalist Kevin Fallon wrote: ‘An exclusive photo of my sleep paralysis demon.  

Sana Saeed shared a collection of pictures of Zuckerberg over the years, writing: ‘google photos of mark zuckerberg over the years and you can see the human leave his body year by year.’

Another user simply compared him to the moon from British comedy The Mighty Boosh. Bill Williamsoon photo-shopped a snake’s tongue onto the image, adding: ‘Mark Zuckerberg goes sssssurfing.’

Sean Scheidt wrote: ‘I can’t get over what Zuckerberg looks like without his human make up on his face.’ 

Sharing footage from the interview on Instagram Tuesday, Zuckerberg wrote: ‘As long as the world keeps turning, the memes keep churning.’  

Zuckerberg was pictured moving around on his $12,000 electric Efoil board next to pro surfer Kai Lenny, who went shirtless and without visible sunscreen for the day out. 

At the time the images were taken Zuckerberg was compared online to The Joker, Mrs Doubtfire, the moon and a lizard

At the time the images were taken Zuckerberg was compared online to The Joker, Mrs Doubtfire, the moon and a lizard

His security followed behind in close proximity on a boat, onlookers say.

Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan acquired a 700-plus acre property for $200million in Kauai back in 2014.

Locals on the island have previously called on the tech billionaire to stop colonizing the land, claiming he is suing natives in order to build a mansion on their land.

Facebook is currently defending itself against a federal antitrust lawsuit seeking to break the company apart.

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