Actor Sylvester Stallone has shared a picture of himself wearing a hat with the letter "Q" on it, captioning the selfie with a phrase closely linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
The Rocky and Rambo star uploaded the photo to Instagram, where he has more than 14.3 million followers, with the caption: "Heading into the Storm...."
The post is not a direct endorsement of the far-right movement, which is listed as a terrorist threat by the FBI, but it has sparked speculation that Stallone is making coded references to QAnon.
The conspiracy's central belief—originally spread via a messageboard user known as "Q"— is that the world is run by a cabal of satanic cannibal pedophiles.
In QAnon lore, "the Storm" is the moment when high-profile child abusers, including leading Democrats and members of the Hollywood elite, will be arrested and executed on the orders of Donald Trump, who is seen as a savior-like figure.
Believers have seen various prophesized dates for "the Storm" come and go, most notably the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20.
Although the combination of Stallone's cap and caption could be a simple coincidence, high-profile QAnon advocates have been sharing the Expendables star's post.
Pepe Lives Matter, a QAnon profile with more than 149,000 followers, wrote on encrypted messaging app Telegram: "What kind of hat is that? Stallone with an interesting photo."
Similar comments were made by a number of other popular QAnon accounts on Telegram, including one with over 250,000 followers.
Truth Hammer, a QAnon Telegram account with more than 44,000 followers, wrote: "Check out that hat and that caption. Stallone knows."
Other social media users replied to Stallone's Instagram post, questioning why he had chosen that hat and caption.
"Seriously, is my childhood hero going QAnon? Say it ain't so!" wrote Michael Howard.
"Eye of the Tiger in the eye of the storm!!" added Instagram user Cminms, in reference to the Survivor song that was the theme of Rocky III.
While there has been no previous suggestion that Stallone is linked to QAnon, he does appear to have a good relationship with Trump despite not endorsing him for president in 2016 or 2020.
In May 2018, the former president issued a posthumous pardon to heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson after being urged to do so by Stallone. The actor was present in the Oval Office when Trump signed the pardon.
In April this year, however, Stallone's representatives denied media reports that the actor had become a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
A spokeswoman for Stallone told People that he "has never been and is not now a member of Mar-a-Lago, as has been falsely reported.
"He was an invited dinner guest at the Club but is not himself a member there," the statement added. "He is, however, a member of the Breakers Club in Palm Beach."
Stallone was a guest at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Eve in 2016.
Newsweek has attempted to reach Stallone for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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