What Is The Boyfriend Cliff? An Investigation Into Andrew Cuomo’s Pandemic Poster

As we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is currently in the process of lining his home with wall-to-wall posters of an illustrated mountain. Well, probably that's not actually what he's doing, but we wouldn't be surprised if he were. After presenting his top prize science fair model of the New York COVID-19 "curve" two weeks ago, Cuomo has now unveiled his latest project: a Pandemic Poster™.

During a Monday briefing on New York's COVID-19 response, Cuomo kicked things off by discussing his love of traditional poster art (ok!), and explained how he drew inspiration from the 1900 campaign poster of politician William Jennings Bryan. He then dramatically revealed his latest arts and crafts feat in the form of an illustrated "timeline" of the coronavirus impact on New York in the shape of a mountain with the words "New York Tough" strung across the top.

Created by Brooklyn-based artist Rusty Zimmerman, the artwork was meant, according to Cuomo, to show how far the city has come and what work is still left to do. But the poster — replete with illustrations of a giant nose being swabbed, a bottle of hand sanitizer, an octopus flopped next to a cruise ship, and even a fire emoji — immediately became the subject of internet fodder.

While Cuomo may have delighted in this artistic depiction of a pandemic that has killed thousands in New York, others were just confused, and left asking questions, like: What — and I cannot stress this enough — is the "Boyfriend Cliff?"

On the right side of the COVID mountain, just above where Cuomo's daughters Cara, Mariah, and Michaela (and his dog, Captain) are apparently pulling the city's curve back to normalcy, appears a tiny cliff where a figure can be seen dangling off. This is labeled the "boyfriend cliff." There is no explanation for what the cliff is, or why it exists, but the Internet's imagination knows no limits.

Some pondered whether the Boyfriend Cliff could be referring to Tellef Lundevall, who is dating Cuomo’s daughter Mariah, who was quarantined with the family in Albany. Lundevall has been the butt of a few jokes from the governor over the last few months. Still, though, why is he hanging from a cliff? What does it all mean? Let's circle back with Twitter to find out:

While the boyfriend cliff is still — and may always be — shrouded in dark mystery, Cuomo's poster has tons to unpack that don't involve people hanging off cliffs at all. Like, why is Donald Trump sitting alone on the moon?

Perhaps the answers to all our Pandemic Poster™ questions will be revealed once New York has fully reopened — if, you know, that ever happens. It's hard to say if it will, though, considering our governor is so busy with his art projects.