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.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s governing Conservative Party said Thursday it has suspended a lawmaker who is alleged to have used campaign funds for personal medical expenses and to pay off someone who was threatening him.
The Times of London reported Mark Menzies took thousands of pounds (dollars) given to the party by donors for medical costs and other personal expenses.
It said that in December he called a 78-year-old aide at 3 a.m. asking for help because he had been locked in an apartment by “bad people” who were demanding money for his release. A sum of 6,500 pounds ($8,100) was paid personally by Menzies’ office manager, who was reimbursed from donors’ cash, the newspaper said.
Menzies, who has represented the seat of Fylde in northwest England since 2010, told the Times: “I strongly dispute the allegations put to me. I have fully complied with all the rules for declarations. As there is an investigation ongoing I will not be commenting further.”
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The Conservative whips' office said Menzies had agreed to be suspended from the Conservative caucus in Parliament, "pending the outcome of an investigation.” The suspension means he will remain in Parliament as an independent lawmaker.
He was also suspended from an unpaid role as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s trade envoy to Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina.
Menzies has faced misconduct claims before. In 2014 he quit as a ministerial aide after allegations about his behavior made by a Brazilian male escort. Three years later, the Times said, he was “interviewed by police over bizarre accusations that he had deliberately got an acquaintance’s dog drunk.” It said Menzies strongly denied giving alcohol to a dog.
The case is the latest allegation of sleaze to hit the Conservatives, who have lost several lawmakers to ethics scandals in the past two years – including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
They include a lawmaker caught looking at porn in the House of Commons, another who reportedly offered to lobby on behalf of gambling firms and a legislator alleged to have drunkenly groped strangers at a London private members’ club.
Last week Conservative lawmaker William Wragg suspended himself from the party's parliamentary caucus after acknowledging he’d been the victim of a sexting scam that led to him passing colleagues’ contact details to an unknown individual who held “compromising” material on him.
The Conservatives have been in power since 2010, but opinion polls put them well behind the opposition Labour Party, with an election due later this year.
The report is the latest sign of the muckraking and personal mudslinging expected in the election. Conservatives accuse Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner of dodging tax on a house sale years ago by falsely claiming that it was her primary residence. Police say they are investigating. Rayner denies wrongdoing and has not been suspended by her party.
FILE - The Union flag flaps in the wind outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Britain’s governing Conservative Party said Thursday, April 18, 2024, it has suspended a lawmaker who is alleged to have used campaign funds for personal medical expenses and to pay off someone who was threatening him. The case is the latest allegation of sleaze to hit the Conservatives, who have lost several lawmakers to ethics scandals in the past two years – including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)
Undated handout photo issued by UK Parliament of Conservative MP Mark Menzies. Britain’s governing Conservative Party said Thursday, April 18, 2024, it has suspended a lawmaker who is alleged to have used campaign funds for personal medical expenses and to pay off someone who was threatening him. The Times of London reported Mark Menzies took thousands of pounds (dollars) given to the party by donors for medical costs and other personal expenses. (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament via AP)
