Umair
Jesse Eisenberg might prefer to distance himself from The Social Network and its real-life inspiration, but Mark Zuckerberg seems to have no issue keeping the connection alive—right down to the wardrobe.
During a recent episode of The Colin and Samir Show, where tech CEOs and creators discuss the digital world, the Meta CEO casually revealed that he had purchased one of the shirts Eisenberg wore in the 2010 film at auction.
Host Samir Chaudry brought up the David Fincher-directed, Aaron Sorkin-scripted drama, asking if Zuckerberg had indeed acquired the same T-shirt Eisenberg’s version of him wears in the scene where Andrew Garfield’s Eduardo confronts him in Palo Alto.
“Yeah, that’s true,” Zuckerberg confirmed. “One of my friends saw this online in an auction and was like, ‘You have to get this.’ So I was like, ‘All right, yeah, sure, let’s get it.’”
When asked if it was the actual T-shirt from the film, he doubled down, saying, “Yeah, this is his shirt. Well, it’s my shirt now. But it was his shirt.”
According to the podcast, the item was auctioned on PropstoreAuction with an estimated winning bid between $2,000 and $4,000.
The blue cotton tee, emblazoned with “Ardsley Athletics XXL” in cream-colored lettering, was originally part of the real Zuckerberg’s wardrobe.
The Meta founder attended Ardsley High School and Phillips Exeter Academy before heading to Harvard, often seen sporting shirts from both schools.
Meanwhile, Eisenberg has made it clear that he’s not keeping up with Zuckerberg—or particularly eager to be associated with him.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today last month, the actor admitted, “I haven’t been following his life trajectory, partly because I don’t want to think of myself as someone associated with someone like that. It’s not like I played a great golfer or something and now people think I’m a great golfer. It’s like this guy that’s doing things that are problematic: taking away fact-checking and safety concerns, making people who are already threatened in this world more threatened.”
So while Zuckerberg adds a Hollywood prop to his collection, Eisenberg is more than happy to leave his Social Network days in the past.
