Hunter Schafer is an actor from Euphoria and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and she’s also a model. A recent shoot for Vogue Magazine depicts Schafer in a variety of gorgeous outfits, but one accessory in general has drawn the collective attention of gamers everywhere: the Nintendo Switch. One photo depicts Schafer lounging on the floor, resting between her couch and a coffee table held up by a cherub. She’s gazing off into the distance with a Switch in her hands.
This raised immediate questions from concerned citizens. The Switch is in portable mode; she needs to be looking at it in order to enjoy some gaming. Is it possible that Schafer was thinking of the Wii U? What could lead to such an apparent oversight?
Some gamers were quick to come to Schafer’s defense, pointing out that they play the same way. Who among us hasn’t wound up on the couch, watching TV while playing the Switch, eventually tumbling to the ground while in the depths of a gamer fugue?
People keep saying she’s using the entire console as a controller in an impossible way like she’s some plebeian, but she’s obviously using it in handheld mode to Masuda Method while watching something on TV. It’s a very realistic scenario! https://t.co/XzCJvt5waH
— Tama (@TamashiiHiroka) May 23, 2024
“what is she looking at?” SHES COUNTING THE CARDS IN HER DRAW PILE TO FIND THE LIKELIHOOD OF DRAWING 5 STRIKES ON TURN 3 BOSS SLIME AND IF SHE SHOULD TRY TO FORCE SPLIT THEN OR LATER GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE SO FUCKING STUPID https://t.co/WD1hI69HQ6
— Ludwig’s Holy Babe (@oldwitchsring) May 22, 2024
Other fans were just enthused to see Schafer participating in gaming at all. Some suggested that she could play Princess Zelda in an upcoming project. It wouldn’t be totally unprecedented; Schafer is confirmed to be in OD, an upcoming horror game from Hideo Kojima.
Miss Schafer I would like to inform you that I have three gold stars on every Mario Kart 8 cup on every CC (including the additional 12 DLC cups) and I have 100% completed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and also https://t.co/ptDyobsEPl
— Putruck #FreePalestine (@SmallPutrk) May 22, 2024
Personally, I find Schafer’s gaming posture to be entirely authentic. I’ve found myself in all sorts of awkward positions while playing the Switch, and I’ve certainly been in similar situations. Sometimes, you’re playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and listening to a video essay, only glancing up when the narration indicates there’s an important visual.
Alternatively, perhaps Schafer is employing the pro-gamer move of looking away from the Switch during a long loading screen. I certainly have employed a similar tactic so I don’t have to see my own face, unflatteringly reflected back in the Switch’s black screen. Whatever the case, I hope we see more gaming-themed props in Vogue shoots in the future. I feel like there’s a lot of possibility there, and the reaction to Schafer’s shoot shows that gamers are invested in a console’s role in the high fashion industry.
