It was the DM heard 'round the world. Or at least, the one that made everyone on the internet simultaneously winch and reach for the "screenshot" button.
In late 2022, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine found himself at the center of a PR nightmare that would eventually be distilled into a single, breathless sentence: "Holy f*; Holy fing f; That body of yours is absurd."** Honestly, it’s the kind of thing you’d expect to find in a discarded lyric notebook from 2004, not a direct message sent to an Instagram model. But here we are. The phrase adam levine that body of yours didn't just break the celebrity news cycle; it became a permanent fixture of internet slang.
Why? Because it’s uniquely, spectacularly cringey.
The Leak That Started The Chaos
The drama kicked off when Instagram model Sumner Stroh posted a TikTok that basically set the entertainment world on fire. She claimed she’d been having a year-long affair with Levine.
But the "affair" part wasn't even the weirdest detail.
The kicker was an alleged message from Levine asking if he could name his unborn child—the one he was expecting with his wife, Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo—after Stroh.
"I'm having another baby and if it's w [sic] boy I really wanna name it Sumner. You ok with that? DEAD serious," the message read.
Once the dam broke, the floodgates opened. Other women began coming forward with their own receipts. Among them was a model named Maryka, who shared screenshots of her own interactions with the singer. That’s where the "absurd body" comment originated.
Why The Internet Obsessed Over These DMs
There is a specific kind of "Adam Levine-ness" to these messages.
If you grew up listening to Songs About Jane, you know Levine’s brand is built on a specific type of smooth, high-tenor yearning. But seeing that translated into raw, unfiltered Instagram DMs was like watching a magician accidentally drop his deck of cards.
The messages weren't just "inappropriate." They were weirdly rhythmic.
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- "It is truly unreal how f***ing hot you are. Like it blows my mind."
- "I may need to see the booty."
It felt like he was writing Maroon 5 lyrics in real-time but forgot to add the melody. The internet, never one to let a good cringe-fest go to waste, turned the "absurd" comment into a "snowclone"—a meme template where you could swap out the image.
Suddenly, Adam Levine was "DM-ing" photos of a 40-piece chicken nugget meal, a high-resolution render of a Minecraft block, or a particularly nice-looking spreadsheet.
The Fallout And The "I Crossed The Line" Statement
Levine didn't stay silent for long. He took to his Instagram Stories to "clear the air," though his choice of words only fueled the fire.
He denied having a physical affair but admitted he "crossed the line during a regrettable period."
"I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner," he wrote. He called it the "greatest mistake I could ever make."
Many critics, including Sumner Stroh herself, weren't buying the distinction between "cheating" and "crossing the line." Stroh's response was a simple, scathing Instagram story: "Someone get this man a dictionary."
The public's reaction was a mix of genuine empathy for Behati Prinsloo and a lot of mockery for Levine. It’s hard to maintain a "rock star" persona when your most private, thirsty thoughts are being read aloud by millions of people in a mocking tone.
Lessons From The "Absurd" Era
So, what does this tell us about celebrity culture in 2026?
First, the "Wife Guy" brand is incredibly fragile. Levine had spent years leaning into the image of the doting husband and father. When the DMs leaked, the gap between the curated image and the "dead serious" baby-naming texts was too wide for most fans to bridge.
Second, the internet has a long memory for cringe.
Even years later, you’ll still see people using "that body of yours is absurd" to describe anything from a new car to a well-plated dessert. It has entered the pantheon of celebrity fails alongside the Gal Gadot "Imagine" video and the Pepsi/Kendall Jenner ad.
What You Should Actually Do With This Information
If you’re a creator or just someone who spends time online, the Levine saga is a masterclass in what not to do.
- Digital is forever. Assume every DM you send could eventually be a H2 heading in a viral article.
- Authenticity beats curation. If your public persona is 100% "perfect family man" but your private life is messy, the fallout will always be 10x worse.
- Apologize without the "but." Levine’s attempt to parse the definition of an affair made the apology feel like damage control rather than genuine remorse.
In the end, Adam and Behati stayed together. They welcomed their third child (no, they didn't name it Sumner). But the ghost of that "absurd" body comment will probably haunt Levine's comment sections until the sun burns out.
To stay ahead of the next viral celebrity moment, keep an eye on how these "receipts" cultures evolve on platforms like TikTok, where the "green screen" effect has become the primary tool for whistleblowing in the influencer era.
Next Steps:
If you're following celebrity PR trends, you might want to look into how other "Wife Guys" have handled similar scandals, specifically comparing Levine's response to the Ned Fulmer/Try Guys situation which happened around the same time. You could also analyze how Maroon 5's touring numbers were—or weren't—affected by the viral mockery of their frontman.