Month: February 2021

The Weeknd headlined tonight’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, and the musician, who has made headlines for wearing bandages during multiple award show performances, opted not to wear them himself for his big number. But he did have dancers wear them while performing “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Blinding Lights.”

CBS

Kevin MazurGetty Images

While The Weeknd didn’t say on stage why he opted to incorporate them into his performance, he did talk to Variety about the choice ahead of the game.

“The significance of the entire head bandages is reflecting on the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated,” he said.

The Weeknd has been playing a character, and his changing face plays into his After Hours music videos’ bad night in Las Vegas storyline, he confirmed: “It’s all a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on.”

ABCGetty Images

The Weeknd, by the way, confirmed ahead of the game that his performance would not feature any guest stars. “I’ve been reading a lot of rumors,” he told the NFL Network Thursday. Those rumors included speculation that Ariana Grande, who collaborated with him on “Love Me Harder,” could join him.

But that’s not the case, The Weeknd said: “There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative and the story I was telling in the performance. So there’s no special guests, no.”

The Weeknd added that his performance would be family-friendly, even as he explores heavy subject material. “I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home,” he told Variety. “I will still incorporate some of the storyline [from the videos—it’s a very cohesive story I’m telling throughout this year, so the story will continue, but we definitely will keep it PG for the families. I’ll do my best.”

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On January 20, Amanda Gorman made history as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, and many were moved by her powerful words. Tonight was no different as Gorman recited a poem before kickoff at Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

Before kickoff, Gorman, wearing a silver-studded, light denim jacket, honored essential workers and honorary Super Bowl captains, Los Angeles teacher Trimaine Davis, Tampa Bay nurse Suzie Dorner, and Marine veteran James Martin.

Here is Gorman’s full poem:

“Today we honor our three captains
for their actions and impact in
a time of uncertainty and need.
They’ve taken the lead,
exceeding all expectations and limitations,
uplifting their communities and neighbors
as leaders, healers, and educators.
James has felt the wounds of warfare,
but this warrior still shares
his home with at-risk kids.
During Covid, he’s even lent a hand
live-streaming football for family and fans.
Trimaine is an educator who works nonstop,
providing his community with hotspots,
laptops, and tech workshops
so his students have all the tools
they need to succeed in life and in school.
Suzie is the ICU nurse manager at a Tampa Hospital.
Her chronicles prove that even in tragedy, hope is possible.
She lost her grandmothers to the pandemic,
and fights to save other lives in the ICU battle zone,
defining the frontline heroes risking their lives for our own.
Let us walk with these warriors,
charge on with these champions,
and carry forth the call of our captains!
We celebrate them by acting with courage and compassion,
by doing what is right and just.
for while we honor them today
it is they who every day honor us.”

Ahead of Gorman’s performance, CBS featured a Black Lives Matter tribute featuring Janelle Monáe a performance from Jennifer Hudson in honor of essential workers, a message from President and First Lady Biden, and a performance of “America the Beautiful” from HER.

After she spoke at the inauguration, Gorman received national recognition and praise. She has since spoken about the importance of that moment for her—and the imposter syndrome that can sometimes sneak in at engagements like this.

“Speaking in public as a Black girl is already daunting enough,” Gorman said in a TIME interview. “just coming onstage with my dark skin and my hair and my race—that in itself is inviting a type of people that have not often been welcomed or celebrated in the public sphere. Beyond that, as someone with a speech impediment, that impostor syndrome has always been exacerbated because there’s the concern, ‘Is the content of what I’m saying good enough?’ And then the additional fear, ‘Is the way I’m saying it good enough?'”

Gorman, whose fashion and presence had the attention of everyone watching on January 20, also spoke to the way society places judgment on Black women: “For Black women, there’s also the politics of respectability—despite our best attempts, we are criticized for never being put-together enough; but when we do, we’re too showy,” she continued. “We’re always walking this really tentative line of who we are and what the public sees us as. I’m handling it day by day.”

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During the 10th annual CBS “NFL Honors” show on Saturday night, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that he got engaged in 2020. Fans quickly connected the dots and fans concluded that his fiancée is Shailene Woodley; rumors about their romantic involvement have been circulating recently.

During his speech, Rodgers dropped this bomb: “2020 was definitely a crazy year, filled with lots of change, growth, some amazing memorable moments, 180 straight days of having my nose hairs scraped, playing for very little fans,” Rodgers said. “I got engaged and I played some of the best football of my career.”

Later in his speech, Rodgers thanked his “fiancée” without mentioning her name.

Reports of Rodgers and Woodley’s relationship only began to surface this week, making them the first surprise couple of 2021, as ELLE’s Alyssa Bailey wrote on Wednesday.

“They have kept things private and low key,” a source told E!. “They have seen each other and been in touch. They continue to talk and see each other when they can. They are both focused on their careers, but they also make time for each other.”

In an April 2020 interview with The New York Times, Woodley revealed she was no longer dating rugby player Ben Volavola, with whom she’d been involved since 2017.

“We’re societally conditioned to assume that one person can be our end-all, be-all,” she said. “This is a concept I’ve been thinking about often right now, because I’m very much single [after being in a relationship for years with the rugby player Ben Volavola], and I’ve chosen to be single for a while. The idea of being with someone…is it only because you’ve fallen in love with that person, or because there’s a newness to understanding yourself because of what that person can offer you?”

Before Woodley, Rodgers previously dated race car driver Danica Patrick and was in a relationship with Olivia Munn from 2014 to 2017.

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The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) has made a career out of albums that are simultaneously seductive and sad. But his music isn’t the only thing that can be described that way: his on-and-off relationship with supermodel Bella Hadid can be, too. After initially connecting in 2015, the couple has had multiple breakups and reconciliations. They got back together after The Weeknd’s highly-publicized Selena Gomez relationship of 2017, then broke up due to conflicting schedules in August 2019. There’s been reconciliation rumors ever since, although the two remain off a year later.

Considering their history (and The Weeknd’s musical catalogue), it’s not surprising that several tracks off his last album After Hours reference Hadid. Look back at the Abel and Bella romance that inspired countless songs and discover why the couple reconnected earlier this year. Here, a review of their twisty past.

April 2015

E! initially reported news that the couple was dating after they were spotted at Coachella. “They were hanging out in Coachella and were flirting lots,” a source said. “They have many things in common and really enjoyed each other’s company. She loves his music as well. They are hanging out for sure now.” The source also mentioned that while the two had met before, the music festival was “where they really clicked.”

Us Weekly also confirmed news of the pairing, noting that Hadid and The Weeknd had already spent time with Gigi and her boyfriend at the time, Cody Simpson. They had also gone on double dates with Miley Cyrus and her then-boyfriend Patrick Schwarzenegger. (Oh, how the times have changed.)

The Weeknd would later confirm in an October 2015 Rolling Stone profile that they originally connected when he asked Hadid to be on the artwork for his album Beauty Behind the Madness. “My motive was literally to work with her,” he admitted. However, when she declined, “I was like, ‘All right, cool—we can meet up face-to-face.’”

September 2015

The couple celebrated New York Fashion Week together, photographed leaving the Alexander Wang show hand in hand.

James DevaneyGetty Images

October 2015

Hadid and The Weeknd were then spotted in Soho alongside Bella’s sister Gigi and mom, Yolanda, signaling their seals of approval for the relationship.

Raymond HallGetty Images

Yolanda also shared a snap of her daughter and The Weeknd on Bella’s birthday. In the aforementioned Rolling Stone piece, The Weeknd revealed that he’d bought Hadid a Yorkie named Hendrix for her 19th birthday. “But I’m probably going to end up taking care of it,” he admitted.

During the same interview, he discussed how he was attracted to how hardworking Hadid is and the bond she shares with her family. “It just kind of fell into my lap,” he told the outlet of their relationship. “If this had happened two years ago—well, she couldn’t.” (Hadid would have been 16.) “But if I’d met someone two years ago, I probably would’ve fucked it up. But I’m more—how do I say it?—clear-thinking now.”

November 2015

Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, and Bella Hadid attended an event at the Hard Rock in New York.

Mike CoppolaGetty Images

December 2015

Hadid appeared in the music video for The Weeknd’s song, “In the Night.”

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In the midst of the holidays, E! reported that the couple were on a break. A source told the outlet, “Their schedules got very busy, and it really cut into their relationship. They are still in each other’s lives though, just not in the same exclusive capacity.”

February 2016

The Grammy Awards saw the couple emerging from split rumors in a major way. They made their red carpet debut together, with Hadid sharing the moment on Instagram. “This is YOUR day baby! I’m so proud of you ❤️I feel so lucky to be by your side 👑,” she captioned a snap of them.

Not only did the pair go Instagram and red carpet official on the same night, but The Weeknd took home his first two Grammys. Hadid later opened up to Glamour about the evening, explaining, “It was a big night for him. He has worked so hard, and he did so well that night. As a girlfriend I wanted to be there to support him. Seeing him so happy when he won a Grammy made me so happy.”

Kevin MazurGetty Images

In the same interview, she was asked whether she feels she’s dating Abel or his musical persona, The Weeknd. “I’m dating Abel. I don’t see him as The Weeknd,” she explained. “I’m proud of The Weeknd and the music he makes, but I really love Abel.”

March 2016

Then it was The Weeknd’s turn to support Hadid at Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards.

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April 2016

The pair stopped by a Lakers Game, keeping their spring of public engagements going strong.

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May 2016

The Weeknd and Hadid made their Met Gala debut as a couple, both wearing Givenchy. “My ❤️…” Hadid captioned a photo from the event.

Kevin MazurGetty Images

October 2016

The couple jetted off to Tokyo. Hadid shared a photo from the trip to Instagram captioned, ” Mr. T 👾💜.”

The Weeknd was also by Hadid’s side as she celebrated her 20th birthday.

November 2016

About a month later, People ran a report that the couple had broken up. “Their schedules have been too hard to coordinate and he is focusing on finishing and promoting his album,” a source told the outlet. “They still have a great deal of love for one another and will remain friends.”

On November 25, The Weeknd’s album Starboy was released. News broke shortly after that he’d be performing on the same Victoria’s Secret stage as Hadid on December 5. When asked about the situation, Hadid told E! News, “This is his second year performing, and I think he’s going to kill it. There is no awkwardness. He is my best friend, and I am excited because I am walking during his performance.”

Dimitrios KambourisGetty Images

Sure enough, the performance went more than smoothly. The consensus was that Hadid’s runway walk won the post-breakup narrative. Afterwards, Hadid posted a photo from the night with the caption, “Thank you @theweeknd for being the best and most incredible performer on the planet. You KILLED it, as always😍❤️.”

An E! source affirmed the breakup was amicable explaining, “Getting back together is possible in the future. He has been really supportive with her.”

January 2017

However, plans for a reconciliation were abruptly halted when The Weeknd was spotted kissing Selena Gomez in Santa Monica. Hadid promptly unfollowed Gomez on Instagram. Three days later, many believe she addressed the new relationship by posting a photo of herself flipping off the camera.

A People source explained that while “Bella and Abel’s split wasn’t dramatic,” the model was “hurt and pissed that he’s moved on so quickly with Selena.” However, sources close to Gomez clarified that though the two had met through Taylor Swift’s squad, “they’ve never been close.”

An Us Weekly insider went further, claiming, “Bella has reached out to Abel a few times and told him Selena is using him. He thinks she’s just jealous and isn’t listening to her.”

March 2017

Both The Weeknd and Gomez quietly unfollowed Hadid on Instagram. However, the couple continued to follow Gigi and Bella didn’t stop following her ex. In an interview with Teen Vogue the month prior, Hadid said of The Weeknd, “I’ll always respect him, and I’ll always love him. Sometimes you want to be sad about it or handle it differently, but at the end of the day, you never want to burn a bridge that you’ve fought so hard to build.” Hadid quietly unfollows The Weeknd by early April.

October 2017

More than six months later, Hadid’s mom, Yolanda, appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, where she was asked if her daughter cared that The Weeknd was dating Gomez. “Not anymore, I think,” she casually stated.

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A little over a week later, People broke news that The Weeknd and Gomez had split after 10 months of dating. “She and Abel have been going back and forth for a few months about their relationship,” an insider told the outlet. “It’s been hard with him being on tour and her shooting in New York. That wasn’t easy on them.” Gomez was also linked to on-and-off ex Justin Bieber around the same time. Meanwhile, Hadid posted a wine-sipping selfie in Tuscany.

November 2017

Two weeks after his breakup with Gomez, The Weeknd was seen leaving Hadid’s NYC apartment. A source told E! News, “Bella and Abel have been in contact since Abel and Selena split, but they are not back together. Abel reached out to Bella asking to hang out and catch up, and she decided to see him and see where things go. She knows that if they don’t date again, they can at least be good friends.” An Us Weekly insider claimed, “Bella really missed him. She’s happy with where things are and he is too. They are still totally in love.”

April 2018

Us Weekly reported that the couple was officially back together and kissing at Coachella. At the festival, The Weeknd’s set included an emotional rendition of “Call Out My Name,” a song widely believed to be about Gomez.

E! ran a report that the couple’s PDA during the event was hot and heavy. “Bella never really lost feeling for Abel and had hope they would eventually get back together,” a source told the outlet. However, the model denied the account, responding to the E! News Instagram account, “it wasn’t me,” alongside the shrugging and detective emojis.

May 2018

There’s no denying that Hadid and The Weeknd kissed at the Magnum x Alexander Wang afterparty for the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Photos of the pair emerged, as well as a report from E! that they had been “secretly dating” for a few months.

July 2018

Towards the end of the summer (and after several teases on Instagram Stories) Hadid and The Weeknd was back on. The couple re-followed each other on Instagram. Then E! proclaimed the pair was “exclusively dating” and “in a great place.” The source went on to say, “Abel realized once he started dating around, that he actually is still in love with Bella, and they reconnected.” They even made an appearance at Kylie Jenner’s 21st, taking pictures in the photo booth.

October 2018

The fall brought kissing from the couple in Soho and public professions of love for Hadid’s 22nd birthday.

Raymond HallGetty Images

They capped off the month by attending Heidi Klum’s annual Halloween party in spot-on Lydia and Beetlejuice costumes from the classic 1998 film.

Craig BarrittGetty Images

November 2018

Two years after Hadid’s post-breakup strut on the Victoria’s Secret runway, The Weeknd cheered the model on from the front row alongside her mom.

Dimitrios KambourisGetty Images

Further proof that they’re stronger than ever? Us Weekly reported that the musician asked Hadid to move into his NYC apartment and she agreed. The outlet also spoke to sources who said the couple was “madly in love with each other. A proposal is on the horizon.”

December 2018

Hadid mentioned The Weeknd twice in her Vogue “73 Questions” interview. When asked who makes her laugh the hardest and who is the most beautiful person she knows, her boyfriend was the answer for both.

February 2019

The Weeknd and Hadid wore matching camo outfits to celebrate his 29th birthday. Hadid captioned photos of them on Instagram, “1 minute til my favorite day of the year…. @theweeknd.”

Cassidy SparrowGetty Images

May 2019

If you still wondered where Hadid stands with Gomez nearly two years after her relationship with The Weeknd, speculate no more. The model officially liked a photo of Gomez on Instagram, signaling that there’s no drama to be found.

August 2019

After a few quiet months for the couple, E! reported that The Weeknd and Hadid had split again. A source told the outlet, “They are in different places right now, physically and mentally. Bella is prepping for her fashion week commitments and Abel is working on his music and his upcoming acting debut.” Apparently, the pair hadn’t “spent quality time together in months.”

Sources told Entertainment Tonight a different story, claiming that the couple “haven’t broken up, but are working through things like normal couples do.” In comments similarly made after the pair’s first breakup, a source said that “he two love one another, have lost one another in the past and want to try and make it work.”

Other than one near run-in at Catch One nightclub in late August, the couple appeared to be working on solo projects. Hadid has walked shows at New York, Milan, and Paris fashion weeks. Meanwhile, The Weeknd teased upcoming music on Twitter.

October 2019

As for another reconciliation between the two, apparently they “Earned It.” E! reported that Hadid and The Weeknd were back together hours after he made an appearance at her 23rd birthday party in New York. A source said, “Abel met up with Bella last night for her third birthday celebration at L’Avenue. He was with her the entire night and they left together to go back to the apartment they both shared. You could tell that they were definitely in love and they both looked very happy being around each other.”

That source explained their reconciliation was weeks in the making. “Bella and Abel have been in touch the last couple of weeks and have been working on their relationship,” the source said. “Initially, Abel reached out to Bella first checking in to say hello, and she agreed to meet up with him. There was no love lost between the two. Abel just had a few things he needed to work on and his focus was elsewhere. They are in a better place right now but are trying to keep things on the down low. They both want to be more private about it this time around.”

However, sources were seemingly divided over whether or not Hadid and The Weeknd had reconciled. An insider told TMZ that after the birthday spotting, the pair was just friends. Then, The Weeknd’s rep confirmed to People “they just attended as friends.”

November 2019

On November 5, The Weeknd’s ex Selena Gomez decided to follow both Bella and Gigi Hadid on Instagram, signaling they no longer have any drama. Gigi now follows Gomez, although Bella doesn’t.

Instagram

Then, a few weeks later Gomez commented on one of Bella’s photos “Stunning 😍.” But instead of replying to the comment, Hadid deleted the Instagram post all together. Fans still managed to capture the moment, below.

When a Gomez fan account pointed out that the post had been deleted by Hadid, Gomez commented, “That sucks 😢.”

Shortly after, Gomez clarified what she meant and added she didn’t intend to start any drama between her and Hadid. Gomez commented on fan account Selssbrina’s Instagram (via TheSelenaRundown) and wrote, “I shouldn’t of spoken without knowing the truth. I’m sorry. Please don’t be hurtful. She is a wonderful person, and it was all a misunderstanding.”

Instagram

TMZ reported that Gomez and Hadid privately worked through the issue. Multiple sources said Hadid “actually went out of her way to reach out to Selena this weekend to squash any potential beef.”

Towards the end of the month, two singles from The Weeknd’s album After Hours were released. Lyrics in both “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights,” seemingly addressed the breakups from Hadid and Gomez. In “Heartless,” lyrics reference his reconciliation with Hadid after breaking up with Gomez: “You just came back in my life / You never gave up on me (Why don’t you?)/ I’ll never know what you see (Why won’t you?) / I don’t do well when alone (Oh yeah) / You hear it clear in my tone.” The “Blinding Lights” lyrics also allude to Hadid coming back to The Weeknd.

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February 2020

“After Hours,” the third single off of The Weeknd’s new album, also includes some Hadid references. Lyrics such as, “my heart belongs to you / I’ll risk it all for you I won’t just leave / This time, I’ll never leave,” suggest the singer left Hadid before, but is now committed to making a relationship work. Fans also read into the bridge of the song for possible reconciliation clues:

“I know it’s all my fault / Made you put down your guard / I know I made you fall / I said you were wrong for me / I lied to you, I lied to you, I lied to you (To you) / Can’t hide the truth, I stayed with her in spite of you / You did some things that you regret, still right for you / ‘Cause this house is not a home.”

But the couple hadn’t reconciled in real life. “Bella isn’t dating anyone at the moment,” a source told Us Weekly in February. “She is so busy traveling and working nonstop and she’s mostly focused on her career right now. She still has feelings for The Weeknd and there’s always a possibility that they will get back together down the line, but for right now, she’s single.”

March 2020

On March 20, The Weeknd’s album After Hours was released. A few more tracks caught the attention of Hadid fans. In “Scared to Live,” The Weeknd addresses the on-off nature of his relationship with Hadid, encouraging her to move on with someone else. At one point, he sings, “No, don’t be scared to live again / Be scared to live again / You always miss the chance to fall for someone else (Uh, uh) / ‘Cause your heart only knows me.”

In “Save Your Tears,” The Weeknd alludes to a chance meeting between him and Hadid last summer. According to tabloid reports at the time, the exes ran into each other at Catch One nightclub after their August 2019 breakup, with Hadid leaving shortly after The Weeknd arrived. The Weeknd begins the song: “I saw you dancing in a crowded room / You look so happy when I’m not with you / But then you saw me, caught you by surprise / A single teardrop falling from your eye.”

May 2020

Two months after The Weeknd’s album release, Hadid followed and then unfollowed his ex Selena Gomez. The initial following came on May 4, about three years after Gomez’s relationship with The Weeknd. (At the time, both parties unfollowed Hadid, and she returned the gesture.) But before anyone could call the feud finished, Hadid unfollowed Gomez the very next day.

June 2020

Nine months after the couple’s split, a source told Us Weekly that Hadid and The Weeknd “have been in touch recently.” Their perceived reunion came about four months after a source told the outlet, “there’s always a possibility that they will get back together down the line.”

August 2020

Earlier this month, The Weeknd spoke with Esquire about the inspiration behind his 2018 six-track EP My Dear Melancholy. While the album is widely believed to be about his 10-month relationship with Gomez, he wouldn’t confirm which of his exes was referenced on the record. He did say that the project only took him two and a half weeks to write, record, and release. “The reason why it was so short is like, I think I just had nothing else to say on this…whatever….” he began. “It was just like this cathartic piece of art. And yeah, it was short, because that’s all I had to say on this situation.” When asked if airing his feelings musically made him feel better, The Weeknd replied, “Yeah, of course. I mean, that would have sucked if I didn’t.”

The Weeknd and Hadid would also reunite in person at MTV VMA rehearsals in New York City on the Friday before the Sunday ceremony. A source told Daily Mail that “they played it cool and crossed paths with each other, same place, same time.” That source added that the former couple still seem to be “on good terms.”

February 2021

Ahead of The Weeknd’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl, rumors have been circulating about his involvement with Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía. In an interview with Variety, The Weeknd confirmed he wouldn’t be bringing a plus-one to his Super Bowl performance, despite reports otherwise.

“I’ve been reading a lot of rumors…I wouldn’t bet on it,” he said. “There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative, in the story I was telling in the performance. So yeah. There’s no special guests.”

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It’s no secret that the Kardashian-Jenner family has had a real zest for travel lately—despite the fact that the pandemic is still very much present in the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

In August, she and her sister Kendall traveled to Turks and Caicos for Kylie’s 23rd birthday. Kylie’s daughter, Stormi, turned 3 years old on February 1, and ahead of her big day, Kylie returned to Turks and Caicos. This time, she was with her sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé Kardashian and their daughters for a “girls trip.”

Just days after she shared photos of that last trip, Kylie and Stormi are on another trip. This time, they are in Palm Springs, which is a lot closer to home than her Paris trip last August.

Per The Daily Mail, on Friday, Kylie and Stormi were spotted hopping on a private plane. She was reportedly accompanied on the flight by Yris Palmer and her daughter, Ayla.

Kylie appears to be soaking in the rays while in Palm Springs, where her mom, Kris Jenner, has a house. She posted this bikini shot (with a promotion for Kylie Skin).

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Yris has also been posting on her Instagram story about this trip.

Yris PalmerInstagram

Yris also posted a video of her daughter dancing; here’s a screenshot:

The start of February has been all about Stormi’s birthday.

“Thank you God for sending this little soul to me. crying today because i can’t stop the time 🥺 it’s all the little things i’ll miss like your cute voice and our long talks on the potty,” she wrote on the toddler’s birthday. “watching you experience everything for the very first time has been the best part of these last few years 🤍 but on the other side i’m excited to watch you grow into the most special girl i know you will be and all the amazing things i know you will do. happy birthday to my baby forever!!!!”

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“This is not a love story. This is the story of love.” The bare-bones black-and-white trailer for Malcolm & Marie prepares its audience for a dish-smashing, insult-hurling, love-making saga familiar to any couple with unresolved issues stuck together in quarantine. And the movie certainly delivers on that front. But it’s the specificities of this couple—a Black director (John David Washington) basking in recent success and his gorgeous, professionally stunted younger girlfriend (Zendaya)—that sets this movie apart from, say, Revolutionary Road. This is a story about power and powerlessness.

Malcolm & Marie opens with Malcolm practically skipping into the beautiful rental home provided by his producers in a dapper suit, chest puffed out and raving about the success of his film’s premiere that night. James Brown’s lively “Down & Out in New York City” plays as Marie, reticent in a shiny cutout gown baring her flat stomach, aggressively fixes his supper from an unceremonious box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. It’s clear she’s upset about something, but his dinner cannot go unmade. Besides, he’s not done boasting.

Writer-director Sam Levinson drops us inside a moment between two people we rarely see behind closed doors—the successful older man and the so-called “love” of his life—and forces them to reckon with how they’ve used, or misused, each other. What may be considered a minor offense to some is the impetus of an argument that lasts the entire film: Malcolm forgot to thank Marie in his speech during the event. While it could be an innocuous omission, it suggests a general lack of appreciation for the role she’s played in his life. That’s especially true when it comes to the trophy girlfriend dynamic, where power and appearances are of the utmost importance, and that’s exactly where Malcolm & Marie sits.

It’s not pretty. It gets loud. Expletives explode out of their mouths. Feelings are hurt between bouts of affection, as songs like Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” play. The camera painstakingly tracks each exasperated eye-roll, scream, caress, and angry pace along the plush carpet.

“I didn’t realize what I was to you, a fucking movie,” Marie tells Malcolm in a moment that crystallizes her disappointment. His film centers a struggling female artist and recovering addict—just like Marie—and she knows he couldn’t have made it without her. In fact, she auditioned for the role and he rejected her; she reminds him by reenacting a scene with flawless precision, scraping a knife across the floor as she recites his lines about refusing to get well and sleeping with his friends. The scope of Zendaya’s performance is evident as Marie pivots, in an instant, from this jarring portrayal to her real, wounded self. Hugging her feet on the floor, she says in a small voice, “You fought to get the movie made. Why didn’t you fight for me?”

It’s simple to call Marie desperate for her partner’s validation—and she surely is, as anyone in a relationship in which they’re patronized and devalued might be—but Malcolm also needs her. She feeds his ego, calling his work brilliant (later, when they return to sparring, she tells him he’s just mediocre), and grounds him when he goes off about elitists—though he in fact is one. He’s so absorbed with himself and how other people feel about him and his work that he explodes when one journalist writes about his film precisely through the lens he doesn’t want it to be seen: political. “Cinema doesn’t need to have a message. It needs to have heart!” he shouts. Malcolm is so enraged, he needs Marie to find his phone so he can finish reading the review.

In an effort to assert some of her own power in their relationship, Marie offers a worthy critique of Malcolm’s film and explains how his heroine is oversexualized. But Malcolm dismisses her claim because he thinks she sexualizes herself, using her see-through tank and lack of bra as evidence. But really, it’s Malcolm who objectifies her—as Levinson’s proxy and through the director’s camerawork. Should it matter what Marie’s wearing in this scene in order to take her, or even Zendaya, seriously? Perhaps that’s what Levinson wants us to wrestle with.

Because Malcolm sees Marie as nothing more than a pretty ornament he’s saved from herself. While he claims he loves her, he also tells her, “When I met you, you were a fucking pilled out-disaster! You were 20 years old!” So, why did he want to be with her? Because rescuing her made him feel like a bigger, better man—and it still does. His own insecurities and hero complex wouldn’t have it any other way. “You’re not the first broken girl I’ve known, fucked, or dated.”

Malcolm & Marie isn’t so much a story of love as it is a prototype of a stubbornly imbalanced and toxic relationship. It’s just that now, both parties know it. As much a sexual object to Malcolm as Levinson’s lens makes her to the audience, Marie would be reduced to a trinket if it weren’t for Zendaya’s thoughtful interpretation of the script.

And it’s actually Malcolm & Marie’s message, not its heart, that makes it such a searing watch. With its terrific performances, resonating dialogue, and elegant single-setting production, the film compels us to see beyond a couple clamoring across the house and acknowledge that a perpetually underestimated woman has found her voice. When Malcolm finally utters the words “thank you” by the end of the film, one song from its jazzy soundtrack lingers: Dionne Warwick’s “Get Rid of Him.”

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The boys of CNCO, fresh off the release of their new album Déjà Vu, are back for round two of Song Association—and this time, they’re determined to beat their previous score. Watch as Joel Pimentel, Richard Camacho, Erick Brian Colón, Christopher Vélez, and Zabdiel De Jesús get competitive and sing One Direction, CHIKA, Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero,” and more. Will their second go land them a highly-coveted perfect score? Watch and see.

Stream Déjà Vu Here

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