The eyes have it: Rory Stewart’s ‘magnificently strange’ Newsnight moment goes viral

Rory Stewart has been an Afghan NGO leader, a Conservative leadership candidate, a Harvard professor, a popular podcaster, and the deputy governor of an Iraqi province. This week, he created a moment that drew wider attention than any of them: he fixed a beady gaze on a fellow Newsnight panellist for the longest four seconds in television history. Stewart, who now co-presents The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell, appeared on the BBC programme on 18 September – but in the last few days, a clip of the moment in question has taken on a life of its own on social media.

Stewart appeared alongside the former Labour leader Neil Kinnock and the New Statesman’s political editor, Ailbhe Rea, to discuss the day’s main news stories, including the race between China and the US to develop artificial intelligence (AI). After Stewart made his comments, the presenter Matt Chorley asked Rea what Westminster could do about the development of AI. Stewart then swivelled around in his chair and stared directly at the journalist with an expression – and posture – of absolute focus.

Chorley told the Guardian the behaviour hadn’t appeared overly strange in person: “I didn’t notice Rory looking particularly intently at anyone during the course of the programme.” He only became aware of what had happened when several friends texted him. He had even joked to the panellists: “Anything that can be used to go viral, maybe a punchup or whatever, a tiff at the table, if you want to do that, that’d be great.” Chorley observed that Stewart was “used to this”, after another clip of him taking his tie off during a Tory leadership debate had gone viral in 2019. I think he was genuinely probably just intently listening to what Ailbhe had to say.

But there was something about the camera angle and his very direct look,” he said. Many behaviours that appear normal in person can look strange on screen, Chorley added. He said he had learned to “remember you’re always on” and to control his naturally emphatic hand movements, which can “look crazy” on screen.

He also recalled an early Newsnight episode which had surprised viewers when Tim Stanley, a columnist at the Telegraph, winked at the camera. The clip has turned into a meme online, with commenters imagining situations in which the stare could have taken place. The Larry the Cat social media account posted: “When HR tells you that you need to listen better to female colleagues.” Total Politics Group’s chief executive, Mark Wallace, compared Stewart’s behaviour to the comedian Kevin Eldon’s surreal style, writing: “There’s a high degree of Kevin Eldon energy to this.