The Virginia-based lecturer secured the Twitter @JohnLewis handle years ago and encounters the same misery every Christmas.
Twitter UK has made John Lewis – the Virginia-based lecturer, not the retail store – the star of its latest Christmas advert.
Every year Mr Lewis, who has owned the Twitter handle @JohnLewis since 2007, receives thousands of tweets about the John Lewis Christmas advert, replying with a wit that has earned him more than 40,000 followers.
So to celebrate him and this very modern tale of farce, Twitter UK have put him front and centre of their own advert.
Keen viewers of the John Lewis Christmas adverts might have noticed some clever references to past entries, with a telescope, moon and dog ornaments, and a few penguins making appearances.
Last year alone Mr Lewis received 50,000 tweets, but he seems to enjoy the regular mix up, finding time to reply to plenty of messages.
Mr Lewis has owned the Twitter handle @JohnLewis since 2007 (TwitterUK/YouTube)
“I think it’s hilarious that people mistake me for the UK store and I do my best to direct them to the right place,” said Mr Lewis.
“I see a massive spike in tweets at this time of year and I always watch the John Lewis advert, especially as it becomes a huge part of my Twitter conversation.
“I find it absolutely fascinating that Twitter UK has chosen me to star in their Christmas film.
“Hopefully people will be kind about my acting skills. I am no Elton John but who knows, maybe I’ll get tweets about my own film this year.”
Sir Elton starred in the department store’s annual festive commercial, and Mr Lewis was lucky enough to receive a message from the singer-songwriter’s official Twitter account, saying: “We love your work too!”
In response, Mr Lewis said: “I can now die happy.”
It’s all a little bit meta this Christmas.
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — An unsuccessful asylum-seeker in the U.K. has voluntarily arrived in Rwanda, an official said.
The man, whose nationality was not disclosed, did not arrive under a controversial deal to deport to Rwanda migrants who enter the U.K. illegally, Alain Mukuralinda, deputy spokesman for the government, told The Associated Press Wednesday.
“We received him yesterday and we are taking care of him,” he said. “In a few days the asylum-seeker will tell us about his wish either to stay in Rwanda or go somewhere else."
Rwandan authorities will assess his status and decide accordingly, he said.
Last week, the U.K. Parliament approved legislation allowing deportations to Rwanda despite criticism from human rights groups that the plan is inhumane and illegal.
Although no flights have yet taken place under that policy, the U.K. government said Wednesday that it had rounded up the first group of migrants it expects to deport this summer.
The legislation, known as the Safety of Rwanda Bill, was a response to a U.K. Supreme Court decision that blocked the deportation flights because the government couldn’t guarantee the safety of migrants sent to Rwanda. After signing a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for migrants, the government proposed the new legislation declaring Rwanda to be a safe country.
Kemi Badenoch, the U.K. business and trade secretary, said the asylum-seeker who chose to leave shows that Rwanda is safe for deportees.
“We should be trumpeting it because one of the big arguments about this scheme was Rwanda wasn’t a safe country, and actually people are volunteering to go there,” Badenoch told Times Radio. “I know people who go there on holiday, a lot of people have been.”
The deportee was reportedly paid 3,000 pounds ($3,750) to leave. Badenoch told Sky News there is no “cost-free option” for border control.
The U.K. government hopes the deportations will deter migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain.
The plan has been condemned by both the United Nations’ refugee agency and the Council of Europe.
Some rights groups say the way to stop the trafficking is for countries to work together to provide safe and legal routes for migrants, not for countries like Britain to put up barriers and outsource their problem to others. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last week that deportation flights would begin in July.
Associated Press writer Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
FILE - A security guard stands in the reception area of the Hope Hostel, which is one of the locations expected to house some of the asylum-seekers due to be sent from Britain to Rwanda, in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on June 10, 2022. Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some to the East African country. (AP Photo, File)
