John Legend’s new music video for “Surefire” is an ode to the power of love in the face of xenophobia.

The video, directed by Cole Wiley, premiered on Monday via YouTube and tells the story of a young Muslim woman and a Mexican immigrant’s fight to be together. The couple faces prejudice, family disapproval and even deportation. 

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Wiley said that the characters ― named Roberto and Jamila ― and their story are a response to the anti-immigrant rhetoric and hatred that’s become more open in the United States this year. 

“Human civilization is experiencing an extraordinary moment in time,” he told the magazine. “We are more capable of doing more good than ever before, but we are still mired by a myriad of systemic failures that continue to arise because of our continuing lack of empathy towards others.”

“That is why Jamila and Roberto, the star-crossed lovers featured in the ‘Surefire’ music video, face a number of obstacles that are heavily rooted in the current state of America,” he continued. “Fear of immigration, religious bigotry and many other forms of prejudice are contaminating our cultural landscape on a daily basis.” 

In the video we see that one of the biggest obstacles for the two lovers is Jamila’s disapproving father, who eventually attempts to separate them by calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement and having Roberto deported back to Mexico.

Islamophobia is also an overarching theme in the video, which has a scene showing how Jamila is attacked on the street and has her hijab torn off her head.

The emotional scenes of how both Roberto and Jamila face adversity and ultimately triumph are paired with lyrics from the song that echo its themes: “Make this our kingdom, somewhere where good love conquers and not divides/ I may not know a lot of things, but I know that we’re surefire.”

Watch the “Surefire” music video and the lovers’ story play out above. 

H/T We are mitú

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The day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, after millions of women marched in Washington, D.C., and beyond, Aziz Ansari stood up on “Saturday Night Live” to deliver the show’s opening monologue.

It was a hit. The comedian behind Netflix’s woke study of modern life, “Master of None,” came out swinging against Trump and his supporters, at one point blaming Islamophobia in America in large part on “that scary ass music from ‘Homeland.’” That theme of anti- anti-immigrant sentiment paralleled an essay he wrote for The New York Times months before titled “Why Trump Makes Me Scared For My Family,” who are Muslims from India. 

With that track record, Ansari isn’t blind to American politics, but he’s tired of it. 

“I just have Trump fatigue,” he said at New York’s Vulture Festival on Saturday.

The comedian was asked whether he had anything more to say about politics, after his most recent appearance, starring as Dev in “Master of None,” circumvented any direct mention of Trump or American nationalism. 

“I don’t read the news anymore. I can’t deal with it. I know that’s not the most exciting answer, but I can’t deal with the whole cycle!” he replied, giving a joking example of a news item featuring Trump: “‘He said something crazy. He still hasn’t apologized for saying the crazy thing. Other people have denounced the crazy thing. All right, he kind of apologized,’” and after a pause, “’He just said another crazy thing!’ It’s just this loop. And I don’t think it’s making me more aware of what’s going on in the world. It’s like reading soap opera rumors about wrestling or something, it just doesn’t seem real.”

“I just don’t like seeing the name, or talking about it or thinking about it or anything. Trump fatigue,” Ansari said.

Preparation for his “SNL” gig back in January, though, certainly involved heavy immersion in the news. The comedian explained how he took advice from Louis C.K. and Chris Rock, perfecting his set at New York’s Comedy Cellar over the holidays by performing six to nine shows per night instead of going on vacation.

Ansari came up with material that was topical ― even if some of it wasn’t a right fit for the audience’s mood that day. He recalled the gist of one joke that was cut after rehearsal: “People are really motivated. They’re ready to do something. You’ve never seen people this energized! They’re ready to get out there ― to an extent.”

He continued, “You know, because everybody, you see people sitting around at brunch saying, ‘What can we do?’ And someone goes, ‘Well, we could get involved with the state and local government. We could work with organizations like Planned Parenthood and the NRDC.’ And then people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do any of that!’” 

Maybe his outlook will change with time, especially if he and series co-creator Alan Yang gather up enough material for a Season 3 of “Master of None.” But for now, Ansari is taking a big step back from the headlines.

“Things were changing every day,” he said of the period surrounding Trump’s inauguration.

“And it still is. Every day there’s something new and insane that’s happening.”

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In a twist that once seemed improbable, the 2-year-old “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will end the television season as the highest-rated late-night program. 

With three nights left in the standard September-to-May interval, “The Late Show” has edged out “The Tonight Show” by 22,000 viewers, according to a CBS press release. “The Late Show” is now averaging an audience of 3.195 million, whereas “The Tonight Show” has 3.173 million.

With the exception of Conan O’Brien’s brief turn at the helm, “The Tonight Show” had retained the No. 1 spot since the 1994–95 season, when Jay Leno surpassed David Letterman in the ratings. Jimmy Fallon’s takeover in 2014 proved successful, but Colbert began encroaching on Fallon’s lead at the start of 2017. In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Colbert’s pointed political comedy has attracted an audience that is less compelled by Fallon’s safe, middle-of-the-road humor. Fallon is still living down last September’s infamous Trump interview in which he asked softball questions and ruffled the candidate’s hair.

Granted, the stats aren’t entirely pro-Colbert. Fallon still reigns in the 18-to-49 age demographic, which is the most coveted among advertisers. But “The Late Show,” which last year averaged fewer than 3 million viewers, was the only late-night series to grow in year-to-year ratings. As the country’s political news continues to boil, Colbert’s lead seems likely to expand. 

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Former “King of Queens” star Leah Remini is one of the most outspoken critics of the Church of Scientology, and she has no plans of stopping.

The actress, whose A&E exposé series “Scientology and the Aftermath” was recently renewed for a second season, went on Netflix’s “Chelsea” Sunday to chat with Chelsea Handler about her mission to reveal the organization’s dark side and support individuals affected by it. Remini herself had been in the organization since she was 9 years old; she officially left in 2013.

“I’ve been friends with you for a long time. I was friends with you when you were in Scientology, still,” Handler began. “Did you ever try to talk to me about becoming a Scientologist, do you recall?”

“No, because you were a drug-taker,” Remini responded. “So, that wasn’t good.”

“I never felt comfortable in that role,” the actress later continued. “Although it is demanded of the Church of Scientology celebrities to get other members in, so a lot of our friendships always had that kind of, in the background, like, ‘Why are you not getting your friends in? Work on Chelsea.’”

Remini then recalled a story in which members of Scientology had her call Handler after the comedian began joking about the group in her act.

“I was asked by the Church of Scientology to call you and ask you not to do that,” Remini said.

“Which you did, I remember that,” Handler said.

“You did, and you told me to go fuck myself,” Remini finished.

It’s easy to laugh now, but Remini is serious about spreading information on the harm she says the organization can cause its members, including requiring excessive fees for its services and breaking up loved ones.

The actress will have another opportunity to share her and others’ stories: a two-hour special edition of her A&E show is set to air May 29, outlets reported Tuesday. During the episode, former Scientology members will candidly detail their experiences within the church.

Previously, Remini has said the group’s key celebrity members, like Tom Cruise, could “singlehandedly” end Scientology were they to leave. 

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Douglas Ridloff started composing poetry in American Sign Language when he was a teenager, after a well-known ASL poet named Peter Cook visited his high school. Fast forward 10 years, and he hadn’t done much in the way of slam poetry apart from a little dabbling. But then a friend of his invited him to an informal gathering of college students, where ASL was used to respond to challenges and prompts.

“I wasn’t interested in the first place,” Ridloff said in an interview with HuffPost. “At that time I only did ASL poetry and storytelling for fun at parties and backyard gatherings. The host who was also my friend dragged me to go to ASL Slam for the first few times, and I was sitting in the back at the bar chatting with other people and watching some performances and attempts on stage.”

Over time, he began joining in when there were gaps in performances. Gradually, he started paying more attention to the host’s approach to the craft, and began incorporating it into his own routine.

“Boom,” Ridloff said. “I found a home.”

That was in 2005, when a now-monthly gathering called ASL Slam was first founded. The show was co-hosted by ASL poets Bob Arnold and Jason Norman at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City, where it still takes place today. Only now, Ridloff is the host. 

Ridloff says ASL Slam is mostly composed of performers from the deaf community, including native deaf individuals like himself. This marks a significant change from the program’s early years, when ASL students and others who use sign, but who are not deaf, made up a majority of the participants. 

Attendees are also likely to be people who sign, as Ridloff prefers not to have his work translated into English.

“The beauty is lost,” he said. “Think of music. If a song had its lyrics removed but the melody remains, the mood is still there, but something is lost. Or if the melody is removed but the lyrics remain, sometimes the song no longer makes sense.”

The show has gone on tour to Michigan and Austin, and overseas to France. Earlier this year, ASL Slam visited Cuba, to work closely with members of the deaf community there who are interested in creative expression.

“It was amazing to see how fast they got it and created something fresh for the audience,” Ridloff said. “They are about 50 years behind in sign language literacy. Just like the cars.”

Meanwhile, Ridloff is now performing regularly in New York City, in a medium that he says has benefits and nuances that spoken word poetry does not.

“ASL poets can create a complete poem or story by using one handshape to represent a multitude of concepts,” he said. In ASL, Ridloff explained, a single handshape can mean a different word depending on its placement of movement. The handshape for “rooster,” for example, is the same as the handshape for “car.”

“Maybe you could compare rhyming or alliteration to that concept, but that’s just something not experienced in spoken English,” Ridloff said.

People who sign ― including ASL poets like Ridloff ― also use facial expressions and other “non-manual markers” to communicate the equivalent of volume or inflection. A head tilt, nod or shake will provide tonal context for the words that are signed, marking the difference between a declarative statement and an inquiry. Raised eyebrows indicate questions; lip movements indicate superlatives. 

This, he says, contributes to the “spherical” or nonlinear nature of ASL poetry. “Spoken English can be non-linear too, but what it cannot do is exemplify three, four things at the same time,” Ridoff said.

So, for him, what began as a passing hobby has evolved into its own unique art form.

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How could one brand have all that J.D. Power?

That’s essentially the question Chevrolet has been asking America for quite some time now, with their ubiquitous commercial series that features “Real People. Not Actors.” The recurring conceit of these ads involves a Chevy spokesman, Potsch Boyd, bragging to normal people (just like you) about how many J.D. Power awards Chevy has won.

The very regular “not actors” then jump and scream and laugh and express how cool the Chevy brand is these days. It’s very uncomfortable to watch.

You’ve seen these ads. You’ve hated these ads. You’ve wished these ads would go away.

But you’ve probably also wondered how “real” these “not actors” are, especially since their emotions and reactions often seem highly strange and unbelievable.

Thankfully, one of the “real people” just broke their NDA and spoke to The A.V. Club about the whole experience. The person did the interview on the condition of anonymity, but The A.V. Club claimed they did a “a thorough background check.”

The whole Q&A is worth a read, as there are many funny moments that came out of creating this commercial, but here’s the basic rundown.

Everyone was just really confused. I felt nervous. It was weird.
A Chevy “Real Person”

A nondescript agency recruited this man on the street and asked if he was interested in participating in paid market research. He agreed, and for a promised $200 went to the Los Angeles Convention Center having no idea he was about to be in a Chevy commercial. The same day as filming, a porn awards show was taking place at the center and so he thought that’s what he was going to be a part of when he arrived.

He then waited around in a big, dark room with the other future “real people,” still having no idea what his task was. With all the confusion, he had the thought, “Oh, I might get murdered.”

Eventually, doors opened to reveal the brightly lit room seen in the commercial. Spokesman Boyd was already there, just silently smiling. Apparently, he didn’t really ever stop smiling.

Here’s the person’s explanation of the first few moments:

[The spokesperson] just said, “Hey, guys!” as we walked in, and it was another long walk to get over to where he was standing in complete silence. Everyone was just really confused. I felt nervous. It was weird.

Then, a cameraperson showed up and it was evident that this was for a commercial. Later, the “real people” would realize there were many other hidden cameras on set. In any case, once the NDA-breaker’s group realized they were going to be on TV, a magical spell seemed to be cast over them.

Here’s a hilarious explanation of the effect:

It was weird because, once we got in there, he didn’t tell us where to stand or anything. He didn’t point at anything. We just magically got in that line of four people horizontally right in front of him. It was like they had this weird power.

When I was talking to people in the lobby, no one seemed that enthusiastic about anything. The second we got in there, it was like magically everyone was the world’s biggest Chevrolet fan. I can’t stress enough that I’m a real person and not an actor. None of these people were actors, because I asked them what they all did for a living. They suddenly became these perfect spokespeople when this guy started asking questions, like, “What’s the first word that comes to your mind when you think about Chevy?” Literally, the guy next to me was like, “Freedom.” [Laughs.] He was suddenly so patriotic. He was like, “American-made cars. Quality.” All of these people were spewing out these buzzwords.

The whole thing took about two hours. Chevy ended up paying the person $150 in Visa gift cards and promised to mail $50 later. (This was a baffling payment method to him, as well.) The “real people” that ended up having speaking roles in the commercial would eventually get more money, something that may also explain why everyone is so eager to be enthusiastic.

As The News Wheel reported in 2015, some of the “real people” were actors by profession, a fact explained away by a GM representative who claimed this was just because they scouted for people in LA. Struggling actors who know that faking enthusiasm could yield a better paycheck could explain this. 

It’s a popular opinion that these commercials are pretty painful to watch, so much so that just one of the many people parodying the ads has earned millions of views. All at Chevy’s expense.

Here’s one of those parodies:

After being a part of the commercial, the NDA-breaker still doesn’t understand what the J.D. Power award is supposed to mean. He told The A.V. Club:

I’m still not really sure what a J.D. Power And Associates Award is, and they explained it to us. I didn’t retain it at all. But I am genuinely surprised to hear that Chevy has won more unimportant awards than any other car manufacturer.

No matter how long these inane commercials continue (and like cockroaches, they will probably outlive us all), the world may never know who or what J.D. Power is or represents.

Maybe ― speculating widely here ― J.D. Power is the pseudonym of famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger, who actually cheated death and spends his days writing the next great American car reviews, like, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish … and Chevy Products.” Nothing makes sense in this world. Especially these commercials, though. 

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In Manchester on Monday, what should have been a joyful evening of music and dancing at Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” concert turned into horrific tragedy. Just as fans were filing out of the arena, many with pink balloons in hand, a young man standing in the ticket area detonated a bomb.

The terror attack claimed at least 22 lives, and left nearly 60 injured. It was the deadliest attack in the U.K. since 2005. 

We don’t yet know what the proclaimed motivations of the attacker who terrorized Manchester Arena were ― the 22-year-old man who carried out the attack died in the blast ― but what we do know is that the majority of Ariana Grande’s fans are young women and girls. By all reports, the arena was filled with children, mothers and daughters, teen and tween girls who had traveled to the show in pairs or packs.

Teen girls learn how to express passion and love with abandon in a world that largely devalues, objectifies and mocks them.

Pop concerts like Grande’s provide a space where fandoms thrive. And Grande’s fandom, known affectionately as Arianators, is comprised largely of teen girls and LGBTQ youth. (“SO EXCITED TO SEE U TOMORROW,” 18-year-old Georgina Callendar, the Manchester bombing’s first-identified victim, tweeted at Grande on Sunday.) One can surmise that Monday’s concert-goers, ranging in age by decades, many wearing their idol’s signature cat ears and high pony, went out for a night into a space they believed would bring them (or their children) joy and a chance for unencumbered self-expression. For a few hours, the fans in attendance could sing along, losing themselves in the music and soaking up a bit of Grande’s subtle, transgressive sexuality.

Any terror attack flips the switch from assumed safety to fear, from light to darkness, evoking mourning from around the world. But there is something especially hideous about the targeting, whether intentional or not, of young people ― especially young people leaving a space that was supposed to belong to them, at least for a night.

As the New York Times’ Ceylan Yeginsu, Rory Smith and Stephen Castle wrote of the attack:

The violence is intended to stoke fear and to deliver a message. And it was the message of the Manchester blast that was so chilling: the slaughter of teenagers, the anxiety of parents who had been waiting to take their children home, the frantic search for loved ones amid chaos and sirens.

Teen girls are magical beings. I don’t consider this a political statement, more a statement of fact. And, no, Twitter trolls, this does not mean I believe teens are physically immune to the ravages of a terror attack. It means that teen girls learn how to express passion and love with abandon in a world that largely devalues, objectifies and mocks them. It was depressing but unsurprising that in the hours just after the Manchester bombing, at least one male journalist found it an appropriate moment to show disdain for Grande’s music and her largely girlish fan base on Twitter. (The tweets have since been deleted.) 

Teen girls can find joy in drugstore glitter, as well as deeply intimate friendship. They can be smart as hell. They can read up about politics and racial inequality and gender-based violence with just as much enthusiasm as they do about their favorite bands and YouTube stars. And, as Harry Styles articulated in a widely-shared Rolling Stone interview last month, when they find meaning in a musician and their songs, they show up for that artist, again and again and again: “Teenage-girl fans ― they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there.” That artist becomes the recipient of their unbound love.  

You see this same love manifesting between teen girls (and boys and adults of all genders) in the wake of the Manchester bombing. In the hours following the attack, there was an outpouring of collective grief and support for victims, their loved ones and Grande herself ― both online and from within Manchester. 

Members of other fandoms, from Justin Bieber’s Beliebers to Demi Lovato’s Lovatics to One Direction’s Directioners, each community named after their chosen idol, vowed they’d be there for Arianators.

Twitter, which sometimes feels like nothing more than a cruel cesspool, showed up for Georgina Callendar’s best friend Sophie after she posted a beautiful remembrance of her on Twitter.

“To my beautiful best friend I hope you rest in peace my darling. I love you so much and will always miss you,” she tweeted.

The messages began pouring in.

“I’m so sorry for your loss. I do not know you but I am sending you all my thoughts and endless amounts of my love,” one young woman wrote. 

“i know saying sorry won’t help but i really am. u have so many people that are here for u in this time,” tweeted another. 

(Strangers tweet their condolences to Callendar’s BFF, below.)

And in Manchester, the community is rallying, as flowers fill the streets near the arena, and blood banks are overwhelmed with donations.

Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca received an email from a 23-year-old who lives in Manchester, which she posted on Twitter just after midnight on Tuesday. 

“We in this city have not reacted to this terror attack with vitriol; or with fear,” the author of the email wrote. “Our first reaction has been to take to the streets with water, with supplies, to open our homes to those who are stranded and also, sadly, to guide the families who have lost their children through to the centre of a city they don’t know. If you do choose to write about us, please know that [we] reacted with kindness, empathy and love. Not with hate.” 

Nothing can fix the senseless violence and loss of life that occurred in Manchester. There is no making it better, and there is no undoing the trauma and violation that those directly touched by the terror attack ― and those impacted by any terror attack around the world ― experienced.

But what we can do is remember that, like the young women who fill concert halls to dance and laugh and bond, choosing unfettered love and joy whenever possible is the only way forward. 

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For 30 years, Anne Geddes has taken iconic photos of babies and expectant mothers. Now, the beloved photographer is revisiting some of those images for her new book and is catching up with many of the babies she’s photographed over the years.

For her “Baby, Look at You Now” series on Instagram, Geddes posts stories about people whom she photographed as babies, sharing the professional photos she took of them years ago as well as recent photos of them.

Geddes told HuffPost she always joked with her family that when she turned 60, she would set out to learn what the babies she photographed were up to. Last year, the Australian photographer launched the series asking for those babies to reach out to her with updates on their lives.

“Some of them competed at the Rio Olympics. They’re going through college and getting their degrees or they’re off traveling,” she said. “And some of them are parents as well. It’s just a really nice thing and I love hearing from them.”

Geddes has also just released a book, Small World, which features photos her fans have not previously seen as well as some of her classics. She told HuffPost the book weighs just under six pounds, calling it a coincidence that its weight is similar to that of some newborn babies.

“It had a very long gestation period,” she joked, adding that it took most of last year to sort through the archives of her 30-year career. 

The book, which was a joint effort between her and TASCHEN publishers, is separated into four chapters that focus on pregnancy, newborns, babies who are 6 to 7 months old and finally portraits, which Geddes shot during the earliest part of her career.

“It was really gratifying to go back and revisit a lot of these early portraits and see how they’ve stood the test of time which is what I was really trying to do when I photographed the babies all those years ago,” she told HuffPost. “I was really wanting to create a classic portrait that would be relevant in 20, 30, 40 years.”

When reflecting on which photos would make it into the book, Geddes said she knew she wanted to include the photo of a premature baby named Maneesha who was born at 28 weeks.

“I’ve had so many people come up to me over the years to tell me their stories of having premature babies and how that image gave them a sense of encouragement and hope that their little baby would survive as well,” she said.

Maneesha, now in her 20s, is a photographer who has interned for Geddes.

Geddes said she hopes her book brings happiness to readers, especially given how pervasive terror and hate have become.

“I think these days more than ever we all need to concentrate on the goodness around new life and everything that babies represent,” she said. “And to me, babies represent our eternal chance at new beginnings and anyone who has become a parent would know the feeling that as soon as you have a child, you really have this innate need to make the world a better place.”

The HuffPost Parents newsletter, So You Want To Raise A Feminist, offers the latest stories and news in progressive parenting.   

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For more on “The Bachelorette,” check out HuffPost’s Here To Make Friends podcast below: 

 

Do people love “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise,” or do they love to hate these shows? It’s unclear. But here at “Here to Make Friends,” we both love and love to hate them — and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail. Podcast edited by Nick Offenberg.

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A Manchester poet on Tuesday reminded his city and the world after a terrorist attack on a pop concert killed 22 and injured 59 that the people of his city won’t ever back down from adversity.

At a vigil less than 24 hours after a suicide bomber’s deadly explosion erupted outside Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert, mourners paid their respects. Poet Tony Walsh ― affectionately referred to as Longfella ― read his poem “This Is The Place.” Though written in 2013, the poem’s descriptions of the resilient nature of Mancunians, as city residents are known, holds strong.

Walsh’s poem discusses the highs and lows of the city he so loves.

“And this is the place with appliance of science, we’re on it, atomic, we struck with defiance,” Walsh bellowed to the crowd. “And in the face of a challenge, we always stand tall, Mancunians, in union, delivered it all.

“Such as housing and libraries and health, education. And unions and co-opts and the first railway stations,” Walsh continued. “So we’re sorry, bear with us, we invented commuters. But we hope you forgive us, we invented computers.”

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials identified the bomber as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was killed in the blast.

The five-minute reading spoke of the people of Manchester’s ability to “thrive and survive and to work and to build,” and how the spirit of Manchester can never dissolve, even in its worst times:

“Because this is a place that has been through some hard times: oppressions, recessions, depressions, and dark times.

But we keep fighting back with greater Manchester spirit. Northern grit, northern wit, and greater Manchester’s lyrics.

And these hard times again, in these streets of our city, but we won’t take defeat and we don’t want your pity.

Because this is a place where we stand strong together, with a smile on our face, greater Manchester forever.”

Thousands gathered for the vigil at Albert Square, according to The Guardian.

Walsh ended his poem with a reminder of what makes his city great.

“Because this is the place in our hearts, in our homes.

Because this is the place that’s a part of our bones.

Because greater Manchester gives us such strength from the fact that this is the place, we should give something back.

Always remember, never forget, forever Manchester.”

“Choose love, Manchester,” Walsh finished. “Thank you.”

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