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This morning, Joe and Jill Biden went out for a walk with their dogs, Champ and Major, to check out the surprise the first lady had installed overnight for Valentine’s Day weekend. The White House lawn has been decorated with oversized hearts that have positive words like LOVE, GRATITUDE, COMPASSION, and FAMILY on them. The one that says HEALING is signed “Love, Jill.”

As they walked along with coffee cups in hand, the first couple was met by a few members of the press. The conversation that they had has gone viral—not so much because of how extraordinary it was, but rather the opposite. It was delightfully ordinary, filled with normalcy, decency, and even a random act of kindness for good measure. And the simple goodness of it all is moving people to tears.

First, a reporter asked Dr. Biden what inspired her to have the display made, and she said, “I just wanted some joy. With the pandemic, just, everybody’s feeling a little down. So it’s just a little joy. A little hope. That’s all.”

President Biden told reporters that Valentine’s Day is Jill’s favorite holiday and shared how she painted “Joe loves Jill” on his White House office windows when he was vice president. Then he talked about an interview he’d done with journalist Juju Chang in which she asked about Jill and Joe’s “great love affair,” and how he said that he loved Jill more than she loved him.

Asked how he would extend that love story to the American people who are feeling so down, Biden replied, “Tell them there is hope,” he said. “There’s hope. They just have to stay strong. A lot of people have gone through unbearable suffering. They’ve lost their families—lost their children, lost their husbands, wives, moms, dads—and it’s almost unbearable. The one thing I can say to them is they’re still in your heart…they really are.”

The president speaks from personal experience, having lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the Senate, and then losing his oldest son to brain cancer in 2015.

Following that serious moment, the first couple and the reporter chatted a bit more, with the reporter joking about bringing coffee for everyone. After talking about the couple’s German Shepherds—Champ, who is 14 years old, and Major, who is a young rescue dog—President Biden walked over and handed his cup of coffee to the reporter, promising that he hadn’t drunk out of it yet.

Looking through comments on the video, that act of kindness moved many people to tears. In fact, the whole video had people way up in their feelings, with some people saying that the decency and normalcy were “overwhelming” after the past four years.

It shouldn’t be overwhelming to see a loving first couple out for a walk with their dogs, sharing coffee and chatting with people, but it is. Some people commented that they feel like they’ve just gotten out of an abusive relationship (and indeed, there are many analyses that point out the similarities between what America experienced the past four years with the dynamics of an abusive relationship), so this normalcy and decency is refreshing, if perhaps a bit jarring. It’s going to take time to adjust to not feeling traumatized every time the president talks to a reporter.

The word HEALING on the heart behind Biden as he chats with a reporter feels rather fitting, considering the reactions to this clip. Who knew how truly healing a pair of jeans, a pair of dogs, and a simple gift of a cup of coffee could feel?

Since the pandemic started, sure, yes, we all want things to go back to normal, which would include watching movies in theaters. But a few months ago there was a definitive push by some filmmakers to just put movies in theaters and see what happens. They’d talk about the sanctity of the movie theater experience, and that’s all fine and good, but this goes against most logic right now. (There seems to be a trend that, whatever a person wants to do at any given moment, that’s somehow the one safe thing that can still be done.) In an interview with The Atlantic, Shaka King – whose excellent Judas and the Black Messiah is on HBO MAX right now as you read this – was asked about this and, finally, a filmmaker gave the perfect answer:

“I think this is actually quite an easy change to embrace. I don’t want anybody to go to the movie theater and die to watch my movie. I have no desire for that. And as a person who’s been home: Last year was a tough, tough year. I needed shit to watch to distract me. I had TV, but there weren’t a lot of movies. Everybody was holding all the good stuff until this shit went away. It was rough.”

This is a remarkable answer because it’s a filmmaker leaving his ego at the door. Look, if you’re a director, of course you want your movie in a theater. And especially someone in King’s position, who has made his breakthrough film and, as you’ll read ahead, worked so hard to get this story about Fred Hampton made – with so many ups and downs along the way before Warner Bros. gave him the green light. King really should be commended.

Judas and the Black Messiah (again, you can watch it right now on HBO Max) is the story of Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya, who is gobbling up acting nominations every week), but it’s also the story of William O’Neal (who is played by the excellent LaKeith Stanfield who should be getting nominations), the man who infiltrated the Black Panthers on behalf of the FBI and betrayed Fred Hampton. It’s a story that draws some comparisons to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which King sees, but, as he explains, it’s more influenced by The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Are you in New York?

I live in New York.

Okay, me too. I read the interview you did with David Sims at The Atlantic and I thought the answer you gave him about movie theaters was perfect and I’ve been waiting for a filmmaker to say that. And it read like someone who was in New York City last March and April.

Yes. I mean, that’s exactly how I feel. You remember.

I do.

I need something every night. I need something. And we’re still there. I think it’s not just New York — we, fortunately, are in a far more stable place than a lot of other places. Granted, we have winter to contend with, so we can’t really hang out outside. But I was doing this sort of like, hey, let’s have breakfast outside thing like a month ago. And it just got to a place, I was like, I’m freezing. I’d rather have been alone. So I think with it being cold, folks are staying inside more and just looking for something to take their mind away from everything else going on in the world. That’s what this movie’s going to do. It’s going to make you not think about anything that’s going on in the world.

There were certain directors who demanded their movies be seen in theaters only. Directors who are in positions where they have their own movie theaters. Anyway, I’m just glad you said what you said because I’ve been waiting for that answer for a long time.

I’m surprised. I assumed a lot more people felt that way.

Reading about how this movie got made, it sounds like you assumed it would go to a smaller outlet, which didn’t materialize. Then all of a sudden it’s Warner Bros. Was that surprising?

I didn’t anticipate that. To be honest, I had limited experience in terms of navigating studios. It wasn’t so much that I thought one place would appreciate it more. I didn’t know really the difference between the cultures of the studios until going through this process.

Ah, right.

But I expected, quite frankly, all of the studios to jump at the opportunity to make it just because of the stacked team we were bringing to them. With Ryan Coogler right on the heels of Black Panther. Charles King putting up half the budget. Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield attached in leading roles. And, not to mention, and this was the biggest one for me: understanding and knowing, I didn’t know about individual studio cultures. But I was aware of how much they now rely on algorithms in terms of the movies that they green light. Especially coming off the heels of the success of Black Panther, which, I remember going to the theater and seeing people show up in berets and black leather jackets because it’s a Marvel movie, so the people were making that connection. And the fact that we have the director of that movie in the producer role on this film? I felt like that was going to begin the bidding war essentially.

Right, because that adds could be like what Spielberg always did when he produced, “From the mind that brought you E.T. presents…”

Exactly! I was literally thinking the same thing! “That was the true story of the true Black Panther.” You can Moviefone the commercial!

Right. “You saw the superhero version, now hear the real story from the mind who brought you the Marvel movie.” Yeah, it works. By the way, I have a terrible movie trailer voice. They would never hire me to do that.

I don’t have the greatest. We have other talents.

Well, that’s frustrating, it was set up on a tee.

Yeah. I mean, it surprised me somewhat, but only briefly, and then it was just like, okay! We got one! Yes! And not only did we get one, but we got it from Warner Bros.

Exactly.

You want to talk about name recognition, you want to talk about legacy, you want to talk about the right place to make a historical epic? This is where you want to do it. So I wasn’t disappointed as much as I was surprised. I was over the moon because we were making this movie with Warner Bros.

Were you surprises there weren’t a lot of other movies about Fred Hampton? It’s like you’re making the movie of record.

Do you feel like you knew a lot of people who knew him or knew about him?

Do I?

Yeah, do you?

I think people know the name. But I don’t think people knew a lot about him. I think they know generally what he did and they know how his life ended. But as far as everything else, I would probably say no.

I think you’d be surprised about how few people even know the name.

Ah, okay.

I think in the circles you move in, perhaps, and in the circles I move in, certainly, but I think when you’re talking about going out to LA and Hollywood specifically, the name recognition wouldn’t be there. And it won’t be there until this movie comes out.

When I talked to LaKeith he said he had a tough time playing William O’Neal and often came to you for advice. That he felt what he did was “reprehensible,” but yet he’s giving this guy some humanity and he really struggled with that. What was that dynamic like between you and LaKeith? Because that seems like an extremely difficult character to portray.

I mean, it was really hard for him and it was very obviously hard for him in the moment. But it wasn’t until after the fact that he and I had some conversations and some personal memories that he was unearthing and processing while tapping into some of the darker aspects of William’s personality, that I understood the depth to which he was sacrificing as much as he was. But even in the moment, I just used to come to him and just say, look, you have the hardest job out of all of us. Because Daniel’s here, he’s playing an icon, that’s a challenge. Dominique’s here, she’s playing a living icon, arguably more difficult. But you have the thankless job of playing this person that everyone hates. And actually not portraying him sympathetically, but giving context to some of his decisions. And it’s a thankless job and you’re doing it because we want to get a movie about Fred Hampton out to the universe. And this is the way to do that. So, it’s a tremendous sacrifice that you’re making and I thank you for that. And in those dark moments, I would just remind him of the fact, even though you’re playing a coward, what you’re doing is actually quite heroic.

Something just popped into my head when you said “coward.” I was trying to think who he kind of reminds me of, but he kind of reminded me of Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. This guy who starts looking up to Fred Hampton and then betrays him and has to live with that. Obviously, these are different movies, but just that character…

It’s an analogy that a lot of people have made, and the thing that’s funny is that I actually didn’t see that movie until after I made this film. But when I watched the movie, I was like, oh yeah, I can totally see how people would make that connection. There’s definitely something happening there. Even though I also think there are many differences.

Oh, yes.

But I do think that movie, which is what’s interesting, it’s about a guy who gets close to greatness and he loves this guy. He actually loves this guy. And to me, that movie is almost more like The Talented Mr. Ripley in terms of the characters.

Oh, that’s interesting.

And what’s funny is that that was a reference for this cast, was Ripley. Yeah, there’s something there. There’s something there.

‘Jesus And The Black Messiah’ is currently streaming via HBO Max. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

With Donald Trump banned from Twitter permanently, it’s really starting to feel like Ted Cruz is filling the void of the must dunked on politician ever. Following a full week of getting roasted for bad takes on Gina Carano, Shakespeare, and… breast milk(?), Cruz decided to head into the weekend by criticizing the NBA for its Black History Month tributes. Apparently Cruz was not a fan of seeing Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Barack Obama being honored by the league, so in a very Trumpian move, he fired off his thoughts on Twitter:

Am watching the Rockets play tonight. For the second night in a row, here’s how NBA/TNT honors Black History Month: picturing three Dem politicians. Tim Scott doesn’t exist? (unlike Abrams, he’s been elected statewide) Condi Rice? Clarence Thomas? Colin Powell? Obvious bias.

Considering both Obama and Harris made history as the first Black president and vice-president, respectively, and Abrams’ massive organization of Black voters in Georgia led to two major victories in the 2020 presidential election and subsequent runoff in the Senate, which also garnered her the recognition of the Nobel Prize Committee, obviously, those three are worthy of being recognized during Black History Month. More importantly, as numerous people on Twitter continue to point out, Ted Cruz is the last person who should be dictating which Black people should be celebrated, and he’s being absolutely roasted for it.

Amazingly, Cruz set himself for this self-own just a few hours after being dragged by Twitter earlier in the day for taking a swing at Princess Leia in an odd defense of Gina Carano. It’s almost like Cruz wants to be shamed in front of millions of people, but we’re gonna stop pulling on that thread before it leads to some awkward places.

(Via Ted Cruz on Twitter)

The M. Night Shyamalan television series Servant premiered along with Apple TV+ back in November 2019. I admit that I did not initially check in on the series because of a few middling reviews and the fact that there were other Apple TV+ series I prioritized upon its launch (like the heavily hyped The Morning Show and For All Mankind).

However, ahead of the second season of the series and with a sudden dearth of TV thanks to the pandemic, I finally caught up on Servant a few weeks ago, and I found that I really liked the series. I’m willing to give almost any show with half-hour episodes a shot, and I happened to also really like the cast of Servant, which features Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, and Rupert Grint as the irresponsible, cocaine-snorting brother. The tone, however, is a little funky. It’s horror, but the performances are sometimes so over the top that Servant can feel like a dark horror-comedy.

That is, until, “Jericho,” the ninth episode of the first season. Any suggestion that there might be an intentional layer of comedy beneath the premise of Servant is completely erased by that episode, which may be the most disturbing episode of horror I’ve seen on TV since “The Home” episode of The X-Files.

Spoilers for the first season of Servant

Without spoiling too much about how it unfolds, Servant is about a couple who lose their baby under mysterious circumstances. In order to deal with the debilitating grief, Sean (Kebbell) substitutes their dead child with a doll, and Dorothy (Ambrose) treats the doll as though it is her actual baby. For the purposes of discussing episode 9, it’s not important to explain how the story unfolds, except to say that in the ninth episode, we finally find out how their baby died.

It is messed up, and for parents, it is quite possibly the worst nightmare imaginable.

In the episode, Sean has to travel out of state for the weekend, leaving Dorothy alone with the baby. The weather is brutally hot. Dorothy is exhausted because the baby has been crying all night. After a couple of days without any sleep and no help from her husband, Dorothy loses it. Her mind is shot by the lack of sleep, and she finds that she’s just going through the motions of taking care of her baby.

After a trip in the car, she returns home but forgets to remove her baby from the car. Once inside, she mistakenly believes she’s put the baby into its crib, and that the baby has fallen asleep. In fact, so comforted by the rare moment of quietness, Dorothy falls asleep herself.

Around 2 a.m., however, Dorothy wakes up and goes to the crib to check on the baby. The baby is not there, and she briefly realizes what she’s done. Because of the shock that washes over her, however, Dorothy’s mind won’t allow her to acknowledge that the baby has died. She returns to the car, pulls the dead infant out of its car seat, and proceeds to act as though nothing has happened. She continues to care for the dead child for several days — kissing it, holding it, rocking it — until her husband finally returns home.

Meanwhile, a giant leg of meat so huge it cannot be refrigerated is delivered several days early to her husband, who is a chef. Dorothy is so preoccupied with caring for her dead baby that all she can do is to leave the leg of meat on her table. As it rots, decomposes, and draws flies in the suffocatingly hot apartment, Dorothy continues to carry around her dead baby, as her child also continues to decompose in her arms. The smell of death and rot is unbearable.

In her shock, Dorothy remains oblivious to what has happened, to what she has done, and to the state of her child. That remains the case even when Sean returns. That is ultimately why they have to substitute a doll for their child. It’s because if Dorothy ever comes to terms with what she did — that she let her baby die a slow, painful death inside of a hot car — it would break her.

It’s one of the most excruciating, dread-filled episodes of TV I’ve ever seen, and while that may sound like a reason not to watch Servant, that shouldn’t be the case. Servant should appeal to horror fans, while it also works exceptionally well as a mediation on grief. The cooking component of the show is also surprisingly enjoyable, and aside from that one episode, it’s not a particularly difficult show to watch. It is, however, a compelling but slow burn that is blossoming into something else entirely new, interesting, and culty in its second season.

Check it out. It’s currently in the middle of its second season on Apple TV+ (and if you decide to subscribe and have not seen it yet, do watch last year’s best show, Ted Lasso, while you’re at it).

Mila Kunis isn’t the original voice of Meg on Family Guy, but she’s voiced her the longest. The then-15-year-old actress replaced Lacey Chabert beginning with season two’s “Da Boom,” which aired on December 26, 1999. That was 17 seasons ago.

The reason behind the recasting was “a contractual thing. Lacey Chabert, I think there was a mistake in her contract, and I guess she had not intended to be involved for, like, the full run of the show,” creator Seth MacFarlane explained. “It was nothing – there was no tension or anything. She wanted to go, and she was very cool about it.” Kunis has also made a lot of money for voicing the oft-tortured Meg (a reported $250,000 per episode, as of 2013), so it’s no wonder she calls it the “greatest job ever.”

In an interview with Collider to promote her new movie, Breaking News in Yuba County, Kunis was asked about how much longer Family Guy can go. “Let me tell you something, I hope this never ends,” she replied. “I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful for this job. I can’t believe still people care.” Kunis, who’s been able to record her lines during the pandemic in the “makeshift little, tiny studio” in her closet, being on Family Guy “the greatest job ever. Ever, hands down. I dare anyone to tell me that they have a better, more amazing job than that.” Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa on The Simpsons (32 seasons compared to Family Guy‘s 19), might have a case. Otherwise, she might be right.

You can watch the interview above.

Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is ongoing, and there’s more of a hip-hop presence there than probably anybody expected. During recent proceedings, some rappers were quoted, including Run The Jewels. Naturally, El-P, who isn’t exactly a Trump supporter, was pretty proud of himself.

US House of Representatives delegate Stacey Plaskett spoke during the trial and at one point recited part of a line from Run The Jewels’ “Early”: “And yes there’s a they, any time a man say there’s not / Then you know that he lost the plot, what can I say? / Truth’s truth when denied or not.” Plaskett made a couple minor alterations — she actually said, “Truth is truth whether denied or not” — but it was enough for El-P to get excited about it.

Sharing a clip on Twitter yesterday, El-P wrote, “welp apparently i was quoted during the impeachment trial today and i can’t say i didn’t see it coming. ok i didn’t see it coming.” He also wrote on Instagram, “uh…apparently my verse from “early” was just quoted during the impeachment, making it part of the permanent historical record of senate testimony. i’ll just let that sit here for a minute.” Today, in response to an article about the quote, he added, “i’d like to thank high school for kicking me out, fear for inspiring my writing, weed for everything weed does and Nostradamus for predicting this moment probably.”

Meanwhile, Plaskett also quoted GZA during the trial, and he too was pretty happy about it.

The Wizards may be just 6-16 this season and suffering endless speculation about a looming Bradley Beal trade, but Washington is still making time to celebrate the season of love this year. The team took to social media on Friday to release a batch of Valentine’s Day cards for fans, featuring the punniest messages possible for each player on the roster.

Is your love the “Real Beal?” Do you “Rui-lly” love your partner? Well, the Wizards would probably argue that there’s no better way to tell them than to hand them a bright red or pink card with the face of a Wizards player and a special, personalized message to match.

The best one is very clearly the Davis Bertans card, as it’s clear the Wizards content staff had a very hard time coming up with a message that includes either “Davis” or “Bertans” or any form of either name. Instead, they used his nickname, which apparently is “Laser.” The message is that the giver is “lasered” in on their Valentine, which admittedly gives off hardly any vibe of anything having to do with Bertans.

However, the Wizards get a huge kudos for trying this, for mostly succeeding, and for being the only team in the NBA. (so far) helping to land its fans dates for Valentine’s Day. Just make sure if you go on a date, you’re cognizant of the fact that there is still a pandemic going on, of course.

February is Black History Month in America, a fact that in and of itself speaks to a central problem with the way Black achievement is celebrated and taught in this country. Critics have long decried the impulse to compartmentalize history this way, arguing that it diminishes the enormous contributions Black people have made to all sectors of American life.

Historians have long lobbied for a much deeper and more meaningful integration into public school education, and it’s a cause that’s been taken up by Black leaders from various industries. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, for instance, who has long been a champion of education, recently spoke about the importance of re-framing the discussion of Black history.

During a virtual conference this week, he spoke about his own experience learning about Black history in school and the insufficient nature of how it was taught to him and so many others.

“A couple of paragraphs, that was it.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) discusses how Black history gets ignored and the importance of teaching, learning and celebrating the contributions of Black Americans. #BlackHistoryMonth Virtual Teach-in – 12pm/et on @NBA pic.twitter.com/OxcBhlk5K3

— NBA (@NBA) February 12, 2021

“The history books I had when I was in grade school and high school referred to Black people with regard to the issues of slavery and civil rights, and that was it, and that was a couple of paragraphs,” he said. “Our history in this country is so much more involved. It’s intricate. All of our achievements in the arts and sciences are ignored, so we really have a lot of work to do to let our fellow citizens know that we’ve contributed so much to what makes America great.”

Thankfully, we have advocates like Abdul-Jabbar, who consistently uses his voice and his platform to advocate for change. Keeping this conversation going will only aid the process of bringing real change and progress to an educational model that has been badly in need of adjustment for generations.

On Wednesday, Charisma Carpenter joined the growing list of people who’ve come out against Joss Whedon. The actress alleged emotional abuse on the sets of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, claiming he engaged in behavior “only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers.” Since then a number of other Buffy alum have come out in support of her, including Michelle Trachtenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Benson, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Now Eliza Dushku, who played fellow Slayer Faith on both shows, has joined the fray.

“I’m so sorry you have held this for so long,” Dushku wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “Your post was powerful, painful, and painted a picture we’ll collectively never un-see or un-know. Thank you. I hadn’t known it and I won’t forget it.”

She continued:

“I frequently think of the saying, “We are as sick as our secrets.” Our secrets indeed make and keep us sick. What I’m learning more and more — and have personally found most valuable — is that profound healing can only come from naming and disclosing what actually happened, the necessary first step (once someone’s ready) to freeing ourselves from our secrets, untold truths which have kept us isolated, ashamed and held hostage.”

Dushku also lamented about overall abuse in the entertainment industry, saying that “neglecting to ‘name’ the power/gender/sexual/racial abuse epidemic in the entertainment industry (and for that matter society in general), enables the abusers and only emboldens and ultimately fortifies abusive systems.”

But she was hopeful, saying that, with people like Carpenter stepping forward — as well as Ray Fisher, the Justice League star who alleged Whedon abuse last summer — that “countless others feel the solidarity and connection” they have “likely missed for too long.” She concluded by writing, “It starts and will end because of courageous truth-tellers like you. I admire, respect, and love you.”

Carpenter was a series regular on Buffy, playing Cordelia Chase, a fellow high school student and a part of our hero’s inner circle. She left after three seasons to co-star on Angel, but she suddenly and controversially vanished from the show after the fourth season. Carpenter alleged that, among other allegations, Whedon fired her for getting pregnant.

(Via THR)

Not even 48 hours after Gina Carano was fired by Lucasfilm after a series of incendiary social media posts, the former The Mandalorian star has teamed up with controversial far-right commentator Ben Shapiro for a new movie project that will stick it to the “Hollywood Left.” In a statement announcing the new film that will be released exclusively to The Daily Wire subscribers, Carano calls the collaboration an answered prayer following her very public “cancellation” from the hit Disney+ series following an anti-Semitic Instagram post. Via Deadline:

“The Daily Wire is helping make one of my dreams — to develop and produce my own film — come true. I cried out and my prayer was answered. I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob. I have only just begun using my voice which is now freer than ever before, and I hope it inspires others to do the same. They can’t cancel us if we don’t let them.”

While it’s tempting to say that Carano strikes back, we’ll leave the weird and ill-fitting Star Wars metaphors to Shapiro, who is usually in the news for throwing reactionary hissy fits over things like the First Lady being called Dr. Biden, as she should be. “We’re eager to bring Gina’s talent to Americans who love her,” Shapiro told Deadline. And we’re just as eager to show Hollywood that if they want to keep canceling those who think differently, they’ll just be helping us build the X-wing to take down their Death Star.”

(Via Deadline)