Fans think that Tom Holland expresses his love for Zendaya through his clothes after the actor was spotted wearing pants with a “Z” stitched on the back pocket on multiple occasions.
The fan theory first circulated on TikTok in July 2022 after a paparazzi photo of the Uncharted star, 26, went viral. In the photo, Holland was photographed wearing a white T-shirt, a backwards purple baseball cap, and grey jeans.
However, it was the actor’s jeans that caught the attention of fans. A closer look at the pants shows a red “Z” stitched into the upper right corner of the back pocket.
“Tom Holland has Z for Zendaya threaded into his jeans,” a fan by the username @layleezaara wrote in the caption of a video about the paparazzi photo, which also showed a zoomed-in version of the shot.
The video, which has been viewed more than 224,000 times, was met with delight from fans and some have declared the celebrity pair “couple goals.”
“This man sets standards so high,” one person commented, while another said: “This is so hot.”
The theory wasn’t immediately accepted by everyone, however. Others noted possible alternative reasons for the Z.
“Maybe it’s a brand,” one viewer pointed out, while someone else suggested the pants actually belonged to Zendaya.
Last month, the theory appeared to be confirmed after new photos of Holland showed his grey jeans aren’t his only pair of pants emblazoned with a Z. The actor was also photographed by paparazzi on two separate occasions wearing pants with a Z on the pocket.
In a TikTok uploaded in March by @jaynainmarvel, the user shared a photo of Holland taken during his London supermarket outing with Zendaya and published by the DailyMail, in which he could be seen wearing mustard-coloured pants, a grey hoodie and a baseball cap.
In one of the photos, it shows the back pocket on Holland’s pants where a red “Z” could be seen stitched.
The TikToker’s video also included another paparazzi photo of Holland, in which he’d been spotted wearing a pair of light-wash jeans including the same small detail.
“So apparently Tom Holland has Zendaya’s initial embroidered on a lot of his pants,” @jaynainmarvel wrote in a text caption on the video, adding: “Idk if this is sweet or creepy. I’m going to go with sweet because I love them so much.”
The apparent confirmation of the sweet sartorial tribute to Holland’s girlfriend has sparked renewed praise for the couple.
“This is the cutest thing ever!!” one fan wrote, while another said: “I want a boyfriend like him.”
“Tom Holland embroidering the letter Z on the back pocket of all of his pants is simultaneously the best and worst thing I’ve ever seen,” someone else wrote.
Although Holland, who has been dating Zendaya since 2017, has not confirmed or denied the fan theory, it wouldn’t be the first time that he has shown subtle support for his relationship.
In March, the actor shared a sweet reaction to Zendaya’s appearance at the NAACP Image Awards on Instagram, where he commented three heart eye emojis under a photo of the Euphoria star posing on the red carpet.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Holland for comment.
