Entertainment

His New Video is One For your Daily Cry

by Rachel Semigran

Justin Timberlake has hopped on the fan-sourcing bandwagon for his latest video “Not a Bad Thing.” The pop megastar had fans Instagram and tweet pictures and videos of their ooey-goeey, albeit touching love stories with the hashtag #NotABadLoveStory. Much Like Beyonc é ’s #WhatIsPretty, Timberlake’s fanbase proves to be as diverse as they are social media-savvy. Millions of people submitted their wedding photos, proposals, and even a few videos of couples rolling around with their rescued dogs. Cue the sniffles, y’all.

At first glance, the video might make us singletons and childless adults worry — is this just another piece of media saying that people who are in love and people with babies reign supreme? But worry not, the video quickly turns into a kaleidoscope of that crazy little thing called love when a young man poignantly opens up about his mental health and discusses how loving himself is not a bad love story. Ok Timberlake, I’m sold.

We also get glimpses into love stories between people of all shapes and sizes, gender, race, sexual orientation and age. The real kickers are the photos and videos of people in the military and some in hospitals being comforted by the ones they love.

Though it’s not the most original video out there, and it feels like your Instagram feed come to life, and the way Timberlake introduces it before running on stage is a bit slapdash (Guys, thank you for sharing all your love stories and showing me a million reasons why love is not a bad thing.”) it is a guaranteed lump in the throat. A cheesy and maybe even a little cheap one, but a lump in the throat no less. Watch it and weep.