‘It Was a Little Rude’: Michael B. Jordan Wished He Got an ‘Heads-up’ on Being Unseated as ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

Michael B. Jordan‘s “Sexiest Man Alive” mantle has been passed along to actor Paul Rudd for 2021, but the “Black Panther” actor is taking his replacement in stride.

The 34-year-old star had a laugh during an appearance on “Live with Kelly & Ryan” about his 2020 title being stripped away from him and handed to fellow actor Rudd. Jordan joked that he felt like old news when the 2021 cover dropped and wasn’t even given a heads-up about his imminent dethroning.

Michael B. Jordan had no warning that he’d been stripped of his ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title. (Photo: @michaelbjordan/Instagram)

“I mean, they just throw you out,” he told the hosts while playing shocked. “Like, two weeks ago I was all the rage, and now I’m just ‘former Sexiest Man Alive.’”

“Actually, I just woke up to the news. They didn’t give you a heads-up, no,” he playfully continued. “It was a little rude, a little disrespectful. But I let it slide because it’s Paul Rudd, so …” he said, trailing off with a shrug.

Rudd acknowledged that as the latest “Sexiest Man Alive” he’s in good company with former title holders Jordan, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt, and he hoped his life would change for the better, starting with more “sexy dinners.”

(L-R) Michael B. Jordan, Kelly Ripa, and Ryan Seacrest. Photo Credit: @LIVEKellyandRyan/Instagram

“I’m hoping now that I’ll finally be invited to some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B. Jordan,” he told “People” in his November cover interview. “And I figure I’ll be on a lot more yachts. I’m excited to expand my yachting life. And I’ll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I’m looking forward to that.”

Since his 2020 crowning, Jordan has been busy booking gigs, stepping behind the camera as director for the first time, working with his career idol Denzel Washington, and being one half of one of Black Hollywood’s sexiest couples alive with girlfriend Lori Harvey, whom he recently declared his love for to the world.

“There are roles that I passed on that I knew I didn’t have enough life experience to play,” Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was like, ‘What can I pull from?’ But I finally found what love was.”

The “Creed” star hasn’t given up hope that he’ll reclaim his title eventually, however, and told Ryan and Kelly that “there’s always next year.”