The Bear and The Icon Claw star Jeremy Allen White's Calvin Klein campaign dropped on January 4, basically setting the internet aflame as fans thirsted over his sculpted physique and tousled curls. But after the initial flames calmed down, there was one question seemingly on everyone's mind: Where's his belly button?
In the campaign photos, White's abs are so intensely muscled that you can barely see his belly button, leading some people to wonder if it was the victim of overzealous photo editing or if he might even have a Kyle XY situation going on naturally. We're here to put that speculation to rest.
I present to you exhibits A and B in the Curious Case of the Missing Belly Button:
Jeremy Allen White definitely does have a belly button — you may just have to squint to see it. It's there! It's tiny, but it's there. Everyone is born with a belly button; it's how we get nutrients and blood flow from our mothers when in utero. “A belly button comes from the baby being attached to the placenta via the umbilical cord,” explains Dr. Lindsay Cruel, MD, OB-GYN (and father of Allure editor-in-chief Jessica Cruel). "At birth, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut; the belly button is the remnant of the umbilical cord and therefore one cannot be born without a belly button." The belly button can, however, be removed due to emergency surgery on a baby born with intestines outside their abdomen; these conditions are called omphalocele and gastroschisis, Dr. Cruel says. (It's been reported that model Karolina Kurkova does not have a belly button, likely because of a surgery soon after birth. Her agent would only confirm to the press: “She is not an alien.”)
So yes, Emmy-nominated actor Jeremy Allen White does indeed have a belly button. The near-invisible navel is more clearly visible in other shots from the campaign, and you can easily see it in these shirtless paparazzi pics from summer 2023, too.
“Belly buttons can come in all shapes and sizes,” says Melissa Doft, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York. “The belly button forms as a scar from the placental attachment to the baby, and can be deeper or more shallow. In this case, Jeremy has a very shallow belly button which can be poorly seen in some photos."
And the speculation about White's belly button being a victim of overzealous retouching in some of these campaign images? Allure spoke with a retoucher who frequently works on ad campaigns, and they think there was actually limited work done here to enhance the actor's abs… that six-pack is real. This was more likely, in a professional's opinion, the result of “distracting pubic hair.” In attempting to minimize the hair leading up to and around the area in question, that itty-bitty button got erased entirely. Apparently, in the world of retouching, “it's not that hard to lose a tiny belly button.”
There you have it — the hot guy has a belly button. All is right in the world again. Case closed!
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