Theory: Ted Cruz is Lead Singer of Christian Metal Band Stryper

There’s a pretty good chance that Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz is not the famed Zodiac Killer, as some have theorized — but could he be the lead singer of ’80s Christian metal band Stryper?

That’s the theory circulating around social media this week after one Facebook user, author Michael Boulerice, posted a side-by-side photo comparison of the Texas senator and Stryper lead singer Michael Sweet.

The photo comparison quickly went viral, prompting a tongue-in-cheek response from Sweet himself:

“It always amazes me how often posts that really matter never see the light of day, yet some wannabe comes along and posts something that is so ridiculous yet it goes viral?” Sweet told the Daily Dot in a statement. “Twisted, yet the way it is. If I’m the real Ted Cruz, then maybe Robert is Donald Trump, Tim is Hillary Clinton and Oz is Marco Rubio? Wow! Is it true??? Hmm…… ”

Of course, the outlet did some digging into Stryper’s touring history and found that Cruz and the band were often in different places at the same time, making it difficult for the theory to be accurate.

Still, at least one Stryper fan was not amused by the comparison. In a since-deleted Facebook post captured by the Daily Dot, one member of the 5,500-member “Stryper Strong” Facebook fan page told the conspiracy theorists to knock it off.

“It has now grown to the point of being ridiculous,” the post read. “So, can I ask everyone to not post it anymore and to move on? Can we all agree on that? Can I get a like or comment of agreement on this? Sorry, it isn’t funny anymore. (Never was).”

The Orange County-based hair metal band is gearing up to kick off an extensive summer tour of Japan and the United States next month. Here’s hoping that Cruz joins Sweet and company for a killer rendition of “Calling on You” at the band’s July 2 show in San Antonio, Texas.