GLENDALE, Ariz.—Super Bowl LVII may be a showdown between the Eagles and the Chiefs but there will be an onscreen face more familiar face than Patrick Mahomes’—full-time social media influencer and part-time active-duty naval officer Lt. Janie Schmuckatelli, who will be attending the game on behalf of the Navy!
The Instagram phenom, who has well over 80,000 followers, is stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, but frequently makes trips—on the Navy’s dime, and sometimes in supersonic Navy aircraft—to locations such as San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, and New York City for PR purposes. She has also enjoyed many international trips, such as the Navy-Notre Dame game in Ireland and a Glamour magazine shoot in Paris, France. While travel is frequently part of being in the Navy, it typically has to do with work that is useful to the fleet. Schmuckatelli, a public affairs officer, has been building her social media presence since she was a junior at the Naval Academy.
“You know my slogan,” Schmuckatelli told reporters during her Media Day appearance. “Women can wear boots and makeup at the same time!” In fact, Schmuckatelli has crafted an entire platform based around the incorrect notion that she is the only woman in the Navy allowed to wear lipstick.
From time to time she will do paid promotions for products on Instagram but insists that this is not in violation of any Navy policies because she has put “not Navy endorsed” on all of her social media accounts. In spite of this, she still has several photographs of her in uniform while proudly displaying a variety of commercial products. She is also rumored to be the top choice to be the official spokes-PAO for the Navy’s new frigates, if any ever leave the shipyard.
