This post originally appeared on ViewFind. 

If the U.S. and Cuba had to choose from a drop-down menu to describe their relationship, it’s no question which one it would be. That’s right: “It’s complicated.” And while the strained ties are gradually beginning to ease — with the last couple years even seeing the reopening of commercial flights and embassies between the two countries — the stigma of traveling from America to the “forbidden” island still lingers.

Not letting this deter her, budding documentary journalist Morgan Lieberman traveled to Cuba to photograph the island and form her own opinions instead. Through her images, she offers a fresh look at the vibrant and textured charm of the Caribbean country both proud of its past and confident in its future.

Holding a little more than a grudge, the relationship between Cuba and the US began to strain after Fidel Castro came into power in 1959. What ensued afterwards was decades of heated disagreements between the two countries, political grandstanding, and of course, the occasional international crisis.

 With Switzerland holding the role as mediator throughout the years, the two countries surprised the world in 2014 when they announced their governments would be restoring full diplomatic ties. Since then, the two countries have moved forward with thawing relations, but the long period of tension has left an impression.

“Everything I knew about Cuba was either very negative or very misconstrued to really old history books,” says Lieberman, describing what she remembers learning about the country in the American school system. “I think the overall consensus was that it’s a place stuck in the past, unable to escape the reigns of a Communist dictatorship,” she adds.

Traversing beyond the pages of her SparkNotes, Lieberman intentionally didn’t plan ahead for her trip: the last spring break hoorah of her college career. “I knew that having a camera would keep me focused on what I was seeing,” she says, “but I also knew that I didn’t want to go there with any expectations.”

With this openness, Lieberman felt very much at home in Cuba. Easing into the streets lined with colorful, eclectic cars — a look stemming from the results of the US trade embargo — she defines its aesthetics as “vintage but not outdated.”

Finding familiarity in the bold paint chipping off the outside of boxing gyms, she attributes her affection for the country to her own ingrained love of old things.

“One of my uncles has an antique shop in New York and my grandpa was an artist, so maybe it’s genetic,” she laughs while adding, “somehow everything in the past morphs into the present and you don’t realize it, but it affects you. Cuba felt that way for me.”

From securing taxi rides to lending out bicycles, Lieberman felt comfortable in a place where people genuinely seemed to want to help out. “Everything was arranged by word of mouth. It was all like, ‘Oh, let me call up my friend for that,’” she says. “There’s just a kindness that exists there that I really love and admire a lot.”

This warmness could be felt during the week as Lieberman covered the areas of Varadero, Viñales and Havana. “Each city and town offered very distinct characteristics from one another,” she says, “making the country so thrilling with infinite visual opportunities and experiences.”

Varadero, the ultimate getaway for many Cubans as well as millions of international tourists each year, boasted pristine waters and white sandy beaches. And Viñales provided a haven for both cigar and outdoor enthusiasts with its plethora of tobacco farms and stunning mountains and valleys.

For Havana, salty breezes and cigar smoke permeated the air. Friendly taxi drivers honked every time in passing, and freshly squeezed mojitoes flowed at the famous Hotel Nacional: the legendary establishment known for hosting iconic celebrities ranging from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra and John Wayne.

Despite these varying characteristics across the country, Lieberman noticed one consistent element intertwined into the fabric of Cuba as a whole: the way the light hit the streets, trees and buildings during golden hour. Even with hearing about it and looking at pictures before her trip, it felt like something she had recognized on her own.

“I’m still trying to figure it out, but it felt a bit like a painting,” she says. “All of the country felt like this, and I wish I would have read more Hemingway, because I know he loved Cuba, and I’d love to hear what he has to say.” But while the American novelist may have offered some insights, she needn’t look any further than the country’s very own Pedro Juan Gutiérrez who wrote, “Cuba may be the only place in the world where you can be yourself and more than yourself at the same time.”

While wrapping up her last spring break as a college student, Lieberman headed back to Columbia, Missouri, to finalize her degree in documentary journalism. As she takes on the future, she hopes to continue to channel the energy she felt in Cuba of being able to confidently ebb and flow with whatever life brings. “What I came across in that week of spontaneous adventures is that the Cuban people were not actively trying to be something else,” she says, “but rather embracing their sense of tradition and also, taking great pride in changes along the way.”

See more images on ViewFind.com

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The trailer for “Black Panther” has finally arrived and, by the looks of it, this Marvel world will take us on one helluva ride.

In the nearly two-minute teaser, Chadwick Boseman reprises his role as T’Challa (aka the Black Panther) and returns home as king of Wakanda ― a mysterious, powerful and vividly colorful African world. There, we meet a star-studded cast with Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye and, T’Challa’s nemesis, Erik Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan.

The teaser, which dropped during Game 4 of the NBA finals, opens with Klaw (Andy Serkis) chained to a chair asking Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) what he knows about Wakanda. When Ross says that it’s a third world country with “cool outfits,” Klaw reveals Wakanda’s true secret, claiming that he is the only person to have ever seen the country and make it out alive. 

“Explorers have searched for it, called it El Dorado,” Klaw growls. “They looked for it in South America, but it was in Africa the whole time.”

Wakanta, as it appears in the trailer, is a mix of traditional and modern, natural and sleek, and is brimming with waterfalls. Its people are as Ross had suggested — ornate and vibrantly dressed — but they also prove to be as fierce as T’Challa himself.

And, of course, a generous amount of time was used to show the Black Panther’s own super-hero strength and impenetrable armor.

While the trailer is packed with action and fantasy, Boseman’s co-star Sterling K. Brown has said that the film raises “really provocative questions” and is “politically astute” and “socially relevant.” 

“It’s not just an action film,” Brown told Entertainment Tonight. “It addresses the climate today of Africans and African-Americans ― across the country and across the world ― in a way that people will really be excited about.”

“Black Panther,” directed by Ryan Coogler and based on the comic book series by Ta-Nehisi Coates, is due to screen in theaters in February.

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Tim Cook used part of his address to graduating students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday to poke fun at President Donald Trump.

The Apple CEO began by saying he’d never figured out how students at the university in Cambridge pulled off their spectacular course-end pranks ― such as the placing of a propeller atop the campus’ Great Dome.

“Or how you’ve obviously taken over the president’s Twitter account,” Cook added. “I can tell college students are behind it because most of the tweets happen at 3 a.m.”

Cook went on to deliver some serious advice to the class of 2017, and the effect that the online world may have on their lives.

“The internet has enabled so much and empowered so many. But it can also be a place where the basic rules of decency are suspended and pettiness and negativity thrive,” Cook said.

He encouraged students not to let “the noise knock you off course” or to “get caught up on the trivial aspects of life.”

“Don’t listen to the trolls, and for God’s sake don’t become one,” Cook added. “Measure your impact on humanity not in likes, but in the lives you touch. Not in popularity, but in the people you serve.”

Watch Cook’s full speech in the clip below:

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Salma Hayek didn’t want me to leave before should could invoke Donald Trump. 

We were chatting early last week at the New York junket for her new movie “Beatriz at Dinner.” As is standard in the world of Hollywood promotion, I’d been granted a criminally brief 10 minutes with Hayek. She waxed poetic about the melancholic film, and before we knew it, our time together ended. 

I was well aware of the Trumpian undertones in “Beatriz at Dinner,” a dark comedy about a Los Angeles massage therapist slash spiritual healer exhausted by life. Beatriz is an immigrant with an abundance of love that the world often doesn’t reciprocate. When her car breaks down at the home of a wealthy client (Connie Britton), she’s invited to stay for a meal in honor of a billionaire real-estate tycoon (John Lithgow) whose luxury hotels are causing environmental mayhem in developing countries.

“Please help it,” she said, referring to the movie, as I stood up to leave. “Help us. We’re very small. It’s so strange, also ― we’re going to encounter a lot of pushback from the other side.” 

I needn’t ask what she was referring to. Without using the president’s name or referencing real-life politics, “Beatriz at Dinner” indicts Trump’s values. As more guests arrive for the feast, Beatriz feels alone in a sea of money-hungry white faces, some of whom mistake her for the help. The women later mock a female reality star’s body. And in a moment evoking the Minnesota dentist who, in 2015, killed Cecil the lion, the aforementioned tycoon brags about having hunted and killed a rhinoceros for sport. He passes around a photo of the dead animal like it’s a trophy.

“My character, when the movie begins, she’s in despair about how human beings behave and in frustration about where the world is going and the fact that there’s nothing she can do about it, as hard as she has tried all her life,” Hayek said. “Some of the things we have learned to make ourselves interesting and popular socially are kind of sad. Going after another woman collectively like that and enjoying it ― it’s very sad.”

Written by Mike White and directed by Miguel Arteta, who are collaborating again after their extraordinary work on “The Good Girl” and HBO’s “Enlightened,” “Beatriz at Dinner” features a career-best performance from Hayek. In subtle ways, she telegraphs the complexity of feeling drained amid a clique that not only looks and thinks differently, but seems largely uninterested in her perspective. What starts as a comedy of manners becomes an aching drama about humanity’s segregation, and one of the finest roles of Hayek’s 29-year career. 

Despite Hayek’s worries, “Beatriz at Dinner” isn’t likely to receive much Trumpian fuss ― it’s too small of a movie for any real controversy. And anyway, it’s too delicate to piss people off. But it should, at least, spark conversations about the way we treat one another and how to find hope in a world that doesn’t often prioritize equality. As a Mexican actress who has been outspoken about her distaste for the Trump phenomenon, it’s also a personal story.

“I related to this, but I think she’s not even that uncomfortable about being in a room looking different,” she said. “I think this deeper type of loneliness is being alone in a room with people that all think different than her, to the point that she can barely follow what they’re talking about. She’s like, ‘Wait, am I understanding? Is this really what they’re saying?’ And I think so many of us have experienced that.”

“Beatriz at Dinner” is now playing in limited release.

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Offering a mea culpa mere hours after her feud with Taylor Swift seemed to reach a fever pitch, Katy Perry has said “it’s time” to move on. Another one in the casket.

During an interview on HuffPost namesake Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global Podcast, Perry said she is ready to put an end to her three years of bad blood with Swift:

I’m ready to let it go. Absolutely, 100 percent. I forgive her, and I’m sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it’s actually ― I think it’s time.

There are bigger fish to fry, and there are bigger problems in the world. I love her and I want the best for her, and I think she’s a fantastic songwriter, and like, I think that if we both, her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go, like, ‘Yeah, we can do this.’

Maybe I don’t agree with everything she does, and maybe she doesn’t agree with everything I do, but like, I just ― I really, truly, want to come together, and in a place of love and forgiveness, and understanding and compassion.

Perry then belted out a line from “Frozen” anthem “Let It Go” before adding, “There’s a lot of other things out there in the world that people need to be focused on. God bless her on her journey. God bless her. Honestly. I want to operate in a positive, kind space. I want to be an example of kindness, compassion, love, and I forgive and forget. That wasn’t easy for me.”

HuffPost reached out to Swift’s representatives for comment, but we did not receive an immediate response. Swift has been relatively quiet during this round of the pop singers’ public disputes, aside from releasing her catalog on Spotify, Tidal and other streaming services on Friday, the same day that Perry’s new album debuted. In the past, Swift had declined to join such platforms because of their chintzy compensation for artists’ work. 

In case you need a refresher, this whole fracas dates back to 2014, when Swift said she had co-written the song “Bad Blood” about a onetime friend who “did something so horrible” and “tried to sabotage an entire arena tour.” That “horrible” thing involved Swift’s dancers leaving the singer’s roadshow to join Perry’s, per their contract agreements. 

After that, Swift and Perry’s flap escalated, with each taking shots at the other in both subtle and direct ways. Two weeks before her new album’s arrival, Perry amplified the situation again during a Carpool Karaoke appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” saying, “Honestly, it’s really like she started it, and it’s time for her to finish it. It’s about backing dancers. There were three backing dancers. I tried to talk to her about it and she wouldn’t speak to me.”

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“The Mummy” is no match for “Wonder Woman.”

During its first weekend in theaters, the Tom Cruise monster movie debuted at No. 2, earning a tepid $32 million in North American grosses. “Wonder Woman” retained the top spot, collecting an impressive $57.2 million.

That “Wonder Woman” figure is especially noteworthy because superhero flicks tend to see steep declines ― about 60 percent ― during their second weekend in theaters, once the most faithful fanboys and -girls have already scurried to the multiplexes. The first major comic-book adaptation directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins’ film fell by only 45 percent, the least of any modern superhero movie.

“Woman” has now accrued about $205 million domestically and another $230.2 from foreign markets. 

This weekend’s tallies are as much a victory for “Wonder Woman” as they are a defeat for the critically derided “Mummy.” Other recent big-screen iterations of the character ― 1999’s “The Mummy” (starring Brendan Fraser), 2001’s “The Mummy Returns,” 2002’s “The Scorpion King” and 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” ― premiered to heftier sums.

Universal Pictures has a lot riding on this latest reboot, as it is meant to launch the Dark Universe, an expensive franchise that’s slated to span several movies. Stateside audiences were largely uninterested in the inaugural installment, putting the Dark Universe in a precarious position. That said, major studios often rely on international grosses to support tentpole releases nowadays, and this weekend’s $141.8 million in overseas revenue means Universal can, on some level, ignore domestic patrons’ ambivalence. 

Holdovers “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” ($12.3 million), “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” ($10.7 million) and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” ($6.2 million) round out the Top 5. 

Another winner: “It Comes at Night,” a low-budget horror film that trendy indie studio A24 released nationwide. The post-apocalyptic chiller collected $6 million, a decent total for a low-budget title costing $5 million. 

“Baywatch” ($4.6 million), “Megan Leavey” ($3.8 million), “Alien: Covenant” ($1.8 million) and “Everything, Everything” ($1.6 million) complete the Top 10. 

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The 2017 Tony Awards have finally arrived.

One year after “Hamilton: An American Musical” vied for a record 16 statues at the annual ceremony, the Broadway scene looks a little different. Without a clear Tonys frontrunner, a number of critically-acclaimed musicals and plays competed for recognition, including favorites like the Ben Platt–led musical “Dear Evan Hansen” and the Pulitzer-winning play “Sweat.” (The former prevailed, while the latter lost to “Oslo.”) 

Check out last year’s Tony winners here.

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Kevin Spacey might’ve been the 15th choice to host the 71st Annual Tony Awards, but he was more than ready for his close-up at the award show on Sunday night. 

Paying tribute to each of the night’s nominated musicals, Spacey opened the Tonys with a show-stopping extravaganza about the anxieties of being a host in 2017. He also poked fun at the rumors about his sexual orientation as he brought guests including Stephen Colbert and Whoopi Goldberg on stage. 

The Oscar winner first appeared wearing the signature blue-striped polo shirt from “Dear Evan Hansen” with “#host” emblazoned on his arm cast, joking about the show’s ratings-challenged history and the prospect of Twitter trolls.  

Colbert then popped up in a groundhog headpiece, naturally, to encourage Spacey, who belted out a number inspired by the musical adaptation of “Groundhog Day.”

Former Tonys host Whoopi Goldberg joined Spacey onstage next, triumphantly swinging open a closet door to rousing applause from the audience. 

“How long have you been in that closet?” Spacey asked.

“Well, Kevin, it depends on who you ask,” Goldberg shot back with a telling glance. 

After a taped message from Billy Crystal, who ribbed Spacey about his hosting qualifications, Spacey closed the number in spectacular fashion by channeling Norma Desmond, brought to life by Glenn Close in this year’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

Dressed in an ornate gown and headpiece, Spacey sang, “I’m coming out — wait, no, no, no, no,” before breaking out into a tap-dancing routine complete with canes and top hats. 

Watch the entire opening number below.

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“House of Cards” fans who so politely interrupted their binge-watching session to catch the 71st Annual Tony Awards on Sunday night were treated to Kevin Spacey doing his best politico. Except this time, he brought former president Bill Clinton to the award show. 

Well, not the real Clinton. Spacey appeared onstage wearing a white-haired wig and presidential red tie to deliver a brutal joke at Hillary Clinton’s expense during the ceremony. 

See, “Dear Evan Hansen,” one of the musicals nominated this year, centers around a teenager who writes fake emails to ingratiate himself into the family of a fellow classmate, who commits suicide. Spacey used the opportunity to draw a comparison between the musical character and Clinton, who used personal email accounts for official communications.

“We’ve had some exciting young performers this season,” Spacey, as Clinton, told the audience. “Ben Platt was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. That’s very impressive. I was on that list a couple times, but, Ben, you know who you bumped off that list? My wife.”

“Now, between you and me, you might be a better singer,” he continued, “but after seeing your show, there’s no doubt that Hillary is much better at creating fake email accounts than you.”

He added, “I’m going to get in trouble when I get home.”

Spacey also made sure to poke fun at Donald Trump’s presidential election win, eliciting an uproarious response from the crowd.

“This season has been full of drama. We’ve already had some surprising winners, haven’t we? I’m not even talking about the Tony Awards,” the actor joked.

Platt’s reaction to the whole act is all of us. 

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The Divine Miss M just made personal Tonys history.

Bette Midler, star of the Broadway revival of “Hello, Dolly!,” won her first competitive Tony award on Sunday night, taking home the statuette for Best Actress in a Musical. She’d previously won a special (non-competitive) award in 1974 for “adding lustre to the Broadway season,” but, at 71, she finally nabbed the recognition she deserved.

“I’m so privileged. I’m so honored,” she said as she accepted her award. “I hope I don’t cry,” she added, before joking about dating most of the Tony voters.

Midler’s speech was probably one of the longest of the night ― the orchestra attempted to play her off, but she continued speaking, outlasting the musical crescendo. “Revival is an interesting word,” she could be heard saying when the music stopped. “It means ‘near death.’”

She wrapped up by telling audiences that “Hello, Dolly!” had never really gone away, encouraging everyone to see the classic show.

Born in 1945, Midler made her Broadway debut in “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1964. Throughout out her decadeslong career in show business, the singer-songwriter-actor-comedian won several Grammys and Emmys, leaving her one letter away from the coveted EGOT designation. She’s been twice-nominated for an Oscar for her roles in “The Rose” and “For the Boys,” but has yet to secure an Academy Award.

In fact, in 1979, Midler lost an Oscar to “Norma Rae” actress Sally Field, who, this year, was also nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her role in “The Glass Menagerie.” But Field lost the award to”A Doll’s House, Part 2” actress Laurie Metcalf. So ... what goes around, comes around?

“Hello, Dolly!,” based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “The Merchant of Yonkers,” was famously adapted into a movie starring Barbra Streisand. It tells the story of a matchmaker, Dolly Levi ― played by Midler in the 2017 production ― a professional meddler who falls for a “client,” the grumpy near-millionaire Horace Vandergelder. 

Check out more of the 2017 Tony Award winners here.

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The Tonys waved back. 

“Dear Evan Hansen” was awarded Best Musical at the Tony Awards on Sunday night, surprising practically nobody, but delighting everyone.

Producer Stacey Mindich accepted the honor, highlighting in her speech the show’s central theme about wanting to belong. The cast ― including breakout star and newly minted Tony winner Ben Platt ― also performed the musical’s central number, “Waving Through a Window.”

Earlier in the evening, other “Evan Hansen” stars picked up awards: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul picked up the Tony award for Best Original Score, while Rachel Bay Jones earned one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Steven Levenson won the Tony for Best Book, and Alex Lacamoire walked away with Best Orchestrations.

It wasn’t the total award sweep of “Hamilton: An American Musical,” which picked up 11 awards in the 2016 ceremony, but “Dear Evan Hanson” nabbed six awards by the end of the night ― the most for one production this year.

From the minds of “La La Land” songwriters Pasek and Paul, the critically acclaimed musical tells the story of a lonely teenager named Evan Hansen (Platt) struggling with severe social anxiety and the fallout of a classmate’s suicide. When Hansen is mistaken for a friend of the deceased, he becomes a viral internet sensation ― the show features a running social media feed onstage ― as he finds comfort and acceptance in the family of the student he never actually knew. 

Platt has been particularly singled out among the stellar cast members for his performance, which The New York Times described as “not likely to be bettered on Broadway this season.” If the many stars who stop by his dressing room after the show is any indication, the 23-year-old previously best known for playing Benji Applebaum in the “Pitch Perfect” films has taken Broadway and Hollywood by storm with his performance, powerfully capturing the feelings of pain and isolation that come with being at teenager.

The musical has particularly struck a chord with younger theatergoers, who’ve embraced the show’s depiction of mental health issues, a topic that hasn’t been spotlighted on Broadway with such care since “Next to Normal” closed in 2011. 

“When I get ... the opportunity to meet fans after the show or hear from them online or via letters, they feel really comfortable divulging really personal things and opening up about their own struggles,” Platt told PBS NewsHour. 

“Certainly, with anxiety and with self-harm and with inability to connect and all sorts of things. And that’s an incredibly beautiful thing, and I want nothing more than for the show to encourage that and to be able to receive things like that.”

The actor continued to spread a compassionate message onstage at the Tonys.

“The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful,” Platt told fans Sunday night.

The connection audiences feel with the source material has also made “Dear Evan Hansen” an undeniable commercial success. The Broadway cast album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard chart, becoming the highest debut by a cast recording since “Camelot” placed at No. 4 in 1961. (That’s right, “Dear Evan Hansen” bested even “Hamilton: An American Musical” in opening album sales.) 

Brace yourselves, everybody, for the next great musical phenomenon. 

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The world said goodbye to Carrie Fisher all over again at the 71st Annual Tony Awards on Sunday night. 

Fisher’s “Star Wars” co-star Mark Hamill introduced the ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment onstage, paying tribute to the “princess” along with her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and Broadway great Gene Wilder. 

“We lost many beloved members of our theatrical family. Legends of the stage, artists from behind the scenes, princes of show business ... and a princess,” Hamill said, placing his hand on his heart.

Fisher might have been most famous for her work on screen, but she was also revered in the Broadway community. She most recently brought her one-woman show, “Wishful Drinking,” to Broadway in 2009. Her other theater credits include “Irene,” which starred Reynolds, as well as “Censored Scenes from King Kong” and “Agnes of God.”

The actress died in December 2016 at age 60, a few days after she had a heart attack onboard a flight from London to Los Angeles. The following day, Reynolds died from a stroke.

“Underneath all the bravado and the acerbic remarks and the cutting-edge humor, she was a really vulnerable woman,” Hamill said of Fisher backstage, according to People. “I think she covered up that because vulnerability, to her, signaled weakness and so she overcompensated for that. In quiet moments she could be a much different person than when she was on — but we loved her on, too.”

The award show was a bit of a “Star Wars” affair, as Hamill was also reunited with co-star James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader. Jones was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in theater. 

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Stephen Colbert, never soft on President Donald Trump, couldn’t get through the 2017 Tony Awards without squeezing in a few comedic digs at him.

While presenting the award for Best Revival of a Musical, Colbert compared Trump’s presidency to what sounded like one of the worst revivals to ever hit (wayyy) off-Broadway.

“It’s been a great year for revivals in general, especially that one they revived down in Washington, D.C.,” Colbert explained, recounting a show that, he said, started in the 1980s “on Fifth Avenue.”

“Huge production values,” he added, before pointing out a few problems: namely, that the main character was “totally unbelievable.”

“And the hair and makeup? Yeesh,” the “Late Show” host said over a laughing crowd’s applause. “This D.C. production is supposed to have a four-year run, but reviews have not been kind. Could close early ― we don’t know! We don’t know.”

The award presented by Colbert eventually went to “Hello, Dolly!,” which beat out competitor “Miss Saigon,” a production Colbert described as “the only pageant girl whose dressing room our president hasn’t walked in on.”

Colbert’s performance had people on Twitter calling for him to host the Tonys next year. If we’re in the business of nominating new hosts, can we also put Rachel Bloom in the running?

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Dr. Jill Biden was an unlikely star of the 2017 Tony Awards.

When she took the stage on Sunday night, Biden earned a round of applause even before beginning her tribute to America’s veterans. Following her short speech, in which she outlined the difficulties veterans face in adapting to civilian life, she was met by a standing ovation from the Radio City Music Hall crowd ― one of the biggest of the night.

Biden was there to introduce a performance from the musical “Bandstand.” Set in 1945, the show tells the story of Donny Novitski, a musician leading a band of fellow veterans attempting to acclimate to post-war life in a competition for America’s hottest new swing band. 

“In the armed forces, ‘got your six’ means, ‘I’ve got your back,’” Biden said in her introductory remarks, proclaiming her support for the organization Got Your 6. The group works to empower veterans by providing them with resources and opportunities when they return from military service.

Got Your 6, Biden explained, has also partnered with “Bandstand” to highlight the experiences and talents of America’s veterans.

“As the daughter of a World War II signal man and the mother of an army captain, I’ve seen how the scars of service can haunt even in the best of situations,” she said.

“As veterans cope with returning to civilian life, they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen and discover the power of music to find their voice, their purpose and redemption,” Biden concluded. “I’m honored to say to our veterans on behalf of Joe, myself and the company of ‘Bandstand’ and everybody else here, we’ve got your six.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden was caught by cameras beaming in the audience.

You can see a full list of the 2017 Tony Award winners here.

And if you’re feeling nostalgic for American politics circa 2008 to 2016, here’s a meme that never gets old:

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Even kindergarteners recognize just how revolutionary “Wonder Woman” is. 

On Sunday, “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins tweeted a screenshot of a list of “cute Wonder Woman related things” that happened in one kindergarten classroom after the superhero film hit theaters. According to Jenkins’ tweet, her producer received the bulleted list from someone who works in a kindergarten class. 

“I work at a kindergarten and this is a collection of cute Wonder Woman related things that happened within a week of the movie being released,” the top of the list reads.

“Cute” doesn’t even begin to describe the list ― insanely, aw-inducing adorable is more like it. 

The list includes 11 bullet points, all describing different interactions between kindergarteners about Wonder Woman and her awesome Amazonian powers.

“There is one girl that refuses to listen to you unless you address her as Wonder Woman,” one of the points reads. Another (truly amazing) interaction included in the list reads: “A boy threw his candy wrapping in the floor and a 5-year-old girl screamed ‘DON’T POLLUTE YOU IDIOT, THAT IS WHY THERE ARE NO MEN IN TEMYSCIRA [sic].’”

In the caption of her tweet, Jenkins wrote: “This makes every hard day worth it. Thank you to whomever wrote it!!”

Read the full list below. (Scroll all the way down for full transcript if you’re reading this on mobile). 

As of Monday morning, the tweet had already received over 25,000 retweets and 57,000 likes. 

Read the full transcript of the list below:

I work at a kindergarten and this is a collection of cute Wonder Woman related things that happened within a week of the movie being released. 

• 
  

  On Monday, a boy who was obsessed with Iron Man, told me he had asked his parents for a new Wonder Woman lunchbox. 

  
  


• 
  

  A little girl said “When I grow up I want to speak hundreds of languages like Diana”

  
  


• 
  

  This girl had her parents revamp her Beauty and the Beast birthday party in THREE DAYs because she simple had to have a Wonder Woman party.

  
  


• 
  

  Seven girls playing together during recess on Tuesday, saying that since they all wanted to be Wonder Woman they had agreed to be Amazons and not fight but work together to defeat evil. 

  
  


• 
  

  There is one girl that refuses to listen to you unless you address her as Wonder Woman.

  
  


• 
  

  Another girl very seriously asked the teacher if she could ditch her uniform for the Wonder Woman armor bc [sic] she “wanted to be ready if she needed to save the world.” The teacher laughed and said it was okay, and the next day the girl came dresses as Wonder Woman and not a single kid batted an eye. 

  
  


• 
  

  They are making a warp-up dance show, and they asked the teacher if they could come as superheroes, they are going to sing a song about bunnies.

  
  


• 
  

  This kid got angry and threw a plastic care over his head and a girl gasped “LIKE IN THE MOVIE”

  
  


• 
  

  A boy threw his candy wrapping in the floor and a 5-year-old girl screamed “DON’T POLLUTE YOU IDIOT, THAT IS WHY THERE ARE NO MEN IN TEMYSCIRA [sic]”

  
  


• 
  

  On Wednesday, a girl came with a printed list of every single female superhero and her powers, to avoid any trouble when deciding roles at recess. 

  
  


• 
  

  I was talking to one of the girls that hadn’t seen the movie, and the next day she came and very seriously told me “you were right, Wonder Woman was way better than Frozen.”

  
  

At the end of the list, the kindergarten worker reminded Jenkins and the “Wonder Woman” crew just how impactful this film and others like it can be. 

“Consider this your friendly reminder that if this movie completely changed the way these girls and boys thought about themselves and the world in a week,” the person wrote. “Imagine what the next generation will achieve if we give them more movies like Wonder Woman.”

The original post seems to originate from Tumblr user Hot Latino Space Rebel and was published Saturday night. The Tumblr user identifies herself as a 20-year-old person named Kassel. In a follow-up to her original Tumblr post, Kassel wrote that she was so happy for all of the attention her post had received.  

“What makes the impact of Wonder Woman so amazing is that even without [all of] these children actually watching the movie, it has changed the way the play games, the way they view superheroes, the way they interact with each other,” Kassel wrote. “...This is why female-led films are so important. Because media shapes the environment in which children grow up.”

Wonder Woman herself ― a.k.a. actress Gal Gadot ― retweeted the list, adding “Wow the last paragraph really gave me the chills. So true. So powerful. Gives me a huge drive to dive in and work on the next one.” 

Oh, the possibilities. 

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James Earl Jones was honored at the Tony Awards on Sunday for his 60 years of contributions to theater.

Ahead of the telecast, the iconic actor received the Tony Lifetime Achievement award. During his acceptance speech, Jones thanked his father, actor Robert Earl Jones, “who opened the door to his world and his work.” He also thanked those who trained and worked with him throughout his career onstage.

The 86-year-old dedicated a few heartfelt words to his late wife, actress Cecilia Hart, who died in October after battling ovarian cancer.

“I want to thank my wife Ceci for being such a wonderful companion in my life and in my work,” Jones said. “And for being the great co-producer of our son Flynn and for being so dazzling on the red carpet.”

Jones has appeared in 20 productions since making his debut in “Sunrise at Campobello” in 1958. He won his first Tony for best actor in 1969 for his role in “The Great White Hope,” becoming the first black person to win a Tony for a role in a play. He won his second Tony Award for his role in 1987’s “Fences.” 

Given his history, folks on Twitter weren’t too pleased that Jones’ big moment wasn’t included in the telecast.

Though CBS didn’t air the entire speech during the awards, you can watch it in the video above.

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Sasha Obama celebrated her 16th birthday on Saturday, and people shared photos of her with mom and dad, Michelle and Barack Obama, that showed just how beautifully she has matured over the years. 

But that wasn’t the only stunning post about her that was sent out over the weekend. On Sunday, popular Twitter user Ashley Ford, a senior features writer at Refinery 29, dropped a bombshell about Obama that many admittedly did not know: Her real first name is actually NATASHA. 

While Ford, along with a few others who responded to her tweet, was already aware of this, her tweet marked the first time many found out. Expectedly, they reacted in shock.

Sasha is simply a nickname for Natasha. In fact, Obama went by her formal name when she held her summer job at Martha’s Vineyard last year, and it became more public after it was included in stories that reported news on her landing the gig. 

Either way, now more of us know! 

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After a lackluster Season 13, which saw the show’s lowest ratings yet, “So You Think You Can Dance” is returning to the format that initially made it a success. 

Last year, the Fox dance competition series featured 8- to 13-year-olds versus their normal cast of dancers ages 18 to 30. The show’s routines didn’t gain as much momentum as usual, since the age gap between the all-star dancers and their kid partners affected the choreography and the way the performances played out. 

During a Build Series interview with host Cat Deeley, she told HuffPost that herself, co-creator and judge Nigel Lythgoe, and the rest of the “SYTYCD” team are excited to return to the show’s roots with adult dancers. 

“We’ve gone old school again, which is really nice,” Deeley said. “We all really enjoyed doing the kids season because it was so different and it was completely new, but it’s nice to have the adults back again, too.”

The Emmy-nominated host previewed the new season, saying that the return of choreographer Mary Murphy and the addition of new judge Vanessa Hudgens is sure to entertain viewers. 

“Mary Murphy’s back, which is great. The Hot Tamale Train is rolling back into town. Woo, woo!” Deeley said. “And we’ve also got Vanessa Hudgens on the panel too, which I think is brilliant because she is an all-round artist ― singer, dancer, performer, Broadway star. I think she’ll be a brilliant addition, and she’s already been on the road with us and she’s been doing auditions and she gets up onstage with people and dances. She’s in it. It’s great.”

Deeley says she “adores” her job, and is thrilled to still be on the air 14 seasons later. The only thing she ever worries about is whether the newcomers can top past performers ― like Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Witney Carson.

“Every season, before I start, I go in with a little bit of trepidation because you just don’t know if they’re going to be as amazing as the season before,” Deeley admitted. “But we got some great people this time.” 

“SYTYCD” premieres Monday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Watch the full Build Series interview with Cat Deeley below. 

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A 400-year-old play by an underground playwright named William Shakespeare is making headlines this week after The Public Theater’s recent production of “Julius Caesar” angered some viewers (and hence corporate sponsors) by portraying the Roman ruler with a curious likeness to President Donald Trump.

Spoiler alert: The Trump-Caesar resemblance is causing tension because, as any Shakespeare or “Mean Girls” devotee knows, Caesar is assassinated in the course of the play. Or, as Fox & Friends reported, “President Trump [is] brutally stabbed to death by women and minorities.” 

Of course, Shakespeare did not pen his bloody death sequence with Trump in mind. Nevertheless, artistic director Oskar Eustis’ decision to stage the killing of a mercurial, blonde-haired ruler in an ill-fitting suit and too-long red tie has drawn criticism from some viewers, various right-wing media outlets and Donald Trump Jr.

Delta Airlines and Bank of America responded to the firestorm by withdrawing financial support from the production, which is currently running at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater as part of New York’s famed Shakespeare in the Park festival.

Delta released a statement condemning the performance’s “graphic staging,” describing the show’s artistic and creative direction as having “crossed the line on the standards of good taste.” A spokeswoman for Bank of America similarly lamented that “The Public Theater chose to present ‘Julius Caesar’ in a way that was intended to provoke and offend.” American Express also tweeted that the company does not “condone the interpretation of the Julius Caesar play” despite its continued sponsorship of The Public Theater’s other endeavors.

As corporations severed ties to the show, theater buffs and high school English honors students were quick to call out the absurdity of the denunciations ― not only because of a little thing called freedom of speech, but because many don’t quite seem to recall what the whole message of “Julius Caesar” actually is. 

Yes, Eustis’ production of “Julius Caesar” features, in no subtle terms, a Trumpian ruler being stabbed to death by senators, ostensibly, for the good of their nation. But the remainder of the play hashes out how this decision to off a tyrannical ruler in such an undemocratic manner yields nothing but disaster. 

As New York Times’ Jesse Green wrote in his review of the show: “Even a cursory reading of the play, the kind that many American teenagers give it in high school, is enough to show that it does not advocate assassination. Shakespeare portrays the killing of Caesar by seven of his fellow senators as an unmitigated disaster for Rome, no matter how patriotic the intentions.”

For those whose memories have faded a bit since 11th grade, a brief refresher: “Julius Caesar” tells the tale of a demagogue ruling the Roman republic in 44 B.C. A conspiracy grows against the ruler, a man senators feel has grown tyrannical and threatens the future of the nation. In the famed Act 3, Scene 1, Caesar is killed by his fellow statesmen, allegedly, for the good of the state. 

Yet the decision to kill Caesar ends up shattering Rome’s democracy, rather than saving it. The play, then, warns viewers against violent reactions to despotic rule. As Eustis wrote in a note regarding the show: “’Julius Caesar’ can be read as a warning parable to those who try to fight for democracy by undemocratic means. To fight the tyrant does not mean imitating him.”

To suggest the production advocates for or excuses violence in any way is just false. If anything, the play suggests the very opposite, advising against the power-hungriness both Caesar and his opponents embody. If the advice is not heeded, as Gregg Henry, the actor playing Caesar at The Public, warned cheekily in an interview with Backstage: “You can end up losing democracy for like, 2,000 years.”

For some viewers, however, the message of Shakespeare’s words has faded into the background, overshadowed by the visceral power of a Trump-like actor’s white shirt stained with fake blood making its rounds across social media.

One named Laura Shaeffer expressed her disgust in an interview with Mediaite. “To be honest I thought it was shocking and distasteful,” she said. “If this had happened to any other president — even as recently as Barack Obama or George W. Bush — it would not have flown. People would have been horrified.”

Fair enough, except past productions have featured Caesar in the guise of both presidents listed above, among others.

In a 2013 review of “Julius Caesar” at Minneapolis St. Paul’s Guthrie Theater, a critic for Mpls St Paul Magazine described the value of casting Caesar as a “tall, lanky black man,” despite the resemblance being “too obvious.”

“Like Caesar, Obama rose to power on a tide of public goodwill,” the piece reads, “like Caesar, there were many in government who doubted Obama’s leadership abilities; and now that Obama’s first term has failed to live up to the messianic hype, there are plenty of people who — for the good of the country, you understand, not their own glory — want to take Obama down.”

So, this whole cast-a-Shakespearian-tale-in-modern-day-light thing is nothing new. It’s actually, a centuries-old practice. And Trump isn’t being forced to endure anything to which previous American presidents haven’t already been subjected. For eons, political leaders have been accused of greed, egotism and a lust for power. Democracy, as a result, can feel fragile ― if not under siege. Art exists in times like these to illuminate the patterns between past and present while untangling the particulars that distinguish each. It can stir provocation, yes, but also reflection, dissent and enlightenment. 

The theater is often viewed as a space for pushing boundaries and critical thinking. In this production, despite the bloodshed onstage, no real person leaves wounded or endangered; audiences are not encouraged to wreck havoc on any American politician. (In fact, quite the opposite.) To suggest the staging of one of the most esteemed dramas of all time is “political speech” targeted directly and uniquely at Trump not only ignores the play’s message, but its history, too.  

As one seemingly incredulous viewer said in a video interview with Inside Edition: “It’s not really the president, it’s theater. Everyone knows it’s theater.” 

Julius Caesar is slated to run at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater until June 18 as part of New York’s Shakespeare in the Park festival. Tickets are free.

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How many times have you started an important task, only to find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram 20 minutes later ― and then chastising yourself for getting distracted?

Because of common (read: inevitable) instances like this, most people have negative, guilt-inducing associations around the concept of procrastination. But Dr. Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and co-host of the radio show “The Web,” says procrastination itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s how you approach it that determines whether it becomes a burden or a tool.

Procrastination is defined simply as “the act of delaying or postponing something,” Klapow said. But “most of us see it as a sign of fear, laziness, or otherwise avoidance behavior.”

This, however, isn’t always the case. Klapow said the key to using procrastination to your advantage is to take an active approach instead of a passive one.

“Never allow yourself to say, ‘I’m going to get to it.’ That is setting yourself up for failure,” he said.

Instead, use a method he calls “planned procrastination,” where you ask yourself why you need to delay taking action on something — maybe you’re too overwhelmed, too sleep-deprived to focus, or don’t yet have the right resources — and then postpone your task for a specific day and time. The difference here is intention. You’re consciously deciding how to spend your time, rather than letting procrastination be something that happens to you.

Next time you find yourself on the verge of procrastinating — by logging on to social media, perhaps, or leaning over your desk to chat with a co-worker — stop and ask yourself Klapow’s questions:

1. Is this task something I truly don’t have time for?

2. Is it something I have time for but don’t want to do?

3. Is it something I’m afraid to do?

4. Or something I don’t know how to do?

“If you plan your procrastination with an honest understanding of why you are delaying [your task] and a realistic, exact day and time allocation [for completing it], then you can simply enjoy the time off you give yourself in the delay,” Klapow said.

And though there are infinite ways to spend your time, you probably don’t want to squander a deliberate procrastination session by playing games on your phone or scrolling through Twitter ― at least not when you could engage in an activity that helps recharge your batteries and refocus your energy.

Follow these smart procrastination strategies to help set yourself up for productivity when you’re ready to get down to business:

Get out of your head and get moving

If you feel too tired or stressed to tackle your project, take a brisk walk outside, check out the local yoga class you’ve been wanting to try, or jog around your neighborhood.

It may seem counterintuitive to work out if you feel sluggish or anxious, but research shows that exercise is not only a powerful combatant against stress, it also has energizing effects ― meaning your sweat session can leave you feeling simultaneously calmer and more invigorated.

Even just 10 minutes of movement can help reset and improve your mood.

Declutter a problem area in your space.

If Marie Kondo has taught the world anything, it’s that tidying up your home is the key to joy, serenity, and success. Why? Because, as Klapow notes, clutter can cause distraction and stress, especially if the amount of stuff in your space makes it inconvenient or frustrating to accomplish mundane tasks like getting dressed or cooking dinner.

If you follow the KonMari method as a means of procrastination, though, you’ll be decluttering until your entire house is in perfect order — books alphabetized and socks neatly folded atop one another — which will likely take too much time. “The act of decluttering can be overwhelming depending on the size of the job, [and] thinking about how much work there is to do creates more stress,” Klapow said.

So think smaller. Pinpoint a visibly cluttered but contained space in your home, like your desktop, kitchen counter, or bathroom sink area, then determine a set amount of time you’ll spend tidying it up. Klapow explained that setting these specific parameters around a project helps you solve the problem without getting sidetracked.

Meditate or write in a journal.

Instead of pushing through a difficult task when you feel scattered or overwhelmed, pause and turn inward. A study in the American Journal of Hypertension found that regular transcendental meditation practices helped young adults lower their blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve their coping skills. Try meditating for two, five, or 10 minutes — whatever you feel comfortable with. As you breathe, observe the thoughts that come up, and practice acknowledging them without judgment or attachment.

If you’re not the meditation type, try free-writing in a journal — jot down dreams, brilliant ideas, worries, or things you’re grateful for. The simple act of paying attention to your thoughts can help you eliminate mental clutter and feel more relaxed.

Do something creative.

If you’ve consciously postponed the thing you need to get done, use your procrastination time to explore your creativity.

“Start very small and be very generous in your definition of creativity,” Klapow advised. “Maybe it’s arranging some flowers from your garden, maybe it’s doodling on a notepad, or maybe it’s writing a few sentences down.”

Research shows that creative expression through music, writing, visual arts, dance, and the like can help lower stress levels and promote relaxation. Pick your favorite activity, whether it’s cooking, crafting, dancing, or playing guitar, and give yourself the freedom to enjoy it without restriction, judgment, or self-imposed pressure.

Next time you feel the urge to put off a task, try this method out. Chances are you’ll walk away with renewed energy and inspiration.

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