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By Jason Lemon
Deputy News Director
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was spotted jogging shirtless in Toronto on Thursday as temperatures reached more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many fans of Trudeau—who has been called one of the world's sexiest leaders and compared to a Disney prince—were just happy to see a bit more of the prime minister. However, many critics also called out Trudeau's shirtless jog as a public relations stunt to distract from negative press.
According to Canada's CTV News, Trudeau hit the payment and showed off his physique after meeting with the province of Ontario's newly elected Premier Doug Ford. With the humidity making the already high outdoor temperatures feel more like 109 degrees Fahrenheit, the prime minister apparently decided to get rid of his shirt.
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Danielle Hamamdijian, a correspondent for CTV, shared a link to the news on Twitter, saying it was the most shared and most watched story on the television station's website.
Critics were quick to pounce, arguing that the shirtless jog was a PR tactic. As many pointed out, the video started trending just as Trudeau has had to respond to "groping" allegations from 18 years ago.
The "groping" incident allegedly occurred in 2000. An anonymous editorial published after a music festival accused Trudeau, then 28, of "groping" and "inappropriately handling" a female reporter. In April, the article was republished in light of Trudeau's support for the #MeToo movement and his position that a woman should always be believed when it comes to sexual assault.
Although Trudeau has denied the allegations, his response has drawn a slew of criticism in Canada. Editors at the Creston Valley Advance, which published the original editorial in 2000, told The Guardian they are confident the unidentified reporter was telling the truth.
Beyond the sexual misconduct allegations, some have suggested Trudeau also aimed to distract Canadians from negotiations surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement and his increasingly unpopular national carbon pricing plan.
However, some on Twitter think Trudeau was just making a decision many ordinary joggers would on a hot day.
And there were definitely a few Trudeau fans who were overly happy about his decision.
This isn't the first time a shirtless Trudeau has grabbed media attention. Back in August 2014, the prime minister posed for a selfie with a Canadian family vacationing in the province of Quebec. The photos of the brief encounter quickly went viral as well.
Just a few days later, Trudeau was spotted shirtless on the beach after surfing in British Columbia. A photo of a couple getting married went viral after the wedding photographer tweeted out the photo, after spotting the prime minister standing casually in the background and his wetsuit half removed.
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