A few weeks ago, people were absolutely delighted by Mary Halsey, a woman whose video went viral because of her epic karaoke performance of hip-hop artist Missy Elliot’s Work It.
The video clip even gained the attention of Missy, who shared it and called Mary, her “funky white sister”.
Well, it turns out that Mary and Missy, along with Ellen DeGeneres are the gift that keep giving, because Mary was recently invited onto Ellen’s show to perform, and proved to be every bit as delightful as she was in her video.
But the best part of her appearances is that while she was performing Work It, Missy Elliot surprised her by joining her on stage, Buzzfeed reports.
We love how she barely even missed a beat and kept up her performance, even though she was super hyped to be able to share a stage with Missy.
READ MORE: JK Rowling totally photobombed this gay couple's wedding pictures and it's the sweetest thing
Watch the video below – we dare you not to be delighted by this:
And in the spirit of bringing a little joy and hope into your life, we’ve rounded up a few stories, tweets and posts that will hopefully serve to offer some respite from all the negative news on our recent crime stats:
Xolani Luvuno, the amputee runner who completed his first marathon on crutches
Xolani Luvuno’s story touched the hearts of South Africans all over the country when he completed his first comrades marathon earlier year.
His story is one where almost anyone would have given up – HuffPost reports that not only did he struggle with bone cancer (he lost his leg as a result of it) , but he was battling a drug addiction and was homeless. Running became an outlet that helped him and with the help of Hein Venter, a good Samaritan that invested his time and efforts into helping him, he turned his life around completely.
It took him just under 16 hours to finish the marathon, but when he did, the joy on his face was more than palpable.
Watch the video below:
When women on the internet turned a sexist tweet into a thread bomb of compliments to each other
We all know that the internet is filled with a cesspool of folk who make it their job to be miserable trolls. More often than not, women are often the subject of harassment and bullying – and almost all of the time, for no good reason.
In one such case, one random user learned the hard way that whining about something as dumb as women who compliment each other, will only result in something that’s empowering to women.
Sick of going through insta and seeing girls commenting on other girls pictures 'look at u!!??' and 'have you seen yourself??' grow up man you don't even know each other
— Lewis (@lewisbcfc74) May 17, 2018
Twitter user Lewis thought it would be a good idea to complain about women – particularly women who don’t know each other – who are nice to each other. Naturally what followed was a thread of responses featuring women, yup, you guessed it – complimenting each other.
You are so beautiful!!!! ????????
— ???? (@_marlanna) May 22, 2018
So are youuu! Those cheekbones ??????
— Hana Hasanbegovic (@HanaHasanbegov) May 22, 2018
I LOVE all the replies in this thread but I totally stopped at your profile pic. Those eyes and that lip color! Absolutely gorgeous ??
— Noukka ?? (@noukkasigne) May 19, 2018
Thank you so much, I hope that this continues. We all have something that makes us special, even if society tries to argue otherwise! We all deserve to be loved and love, respected and give respect. We need this balance to be restored!
— Gigi ???????????? (@gigitheomega) May 21, 2018
Probably the best comeback with the side benefit of women celebrating each other. We love.
The #ShareYourRejections hashtag that encouraged people to never give up on their dreams.
We’re often required to put our best foot forward, but even our best foot can sometimes step straight into a big fat no. Whether you’re applying for a job or going for an audition, chances are that not everyone is going to like what you have to offer.
And that’s completely okay. You’re not alone.
In an effort to destigmatise rejection, many creatives have shared empowering stories about how after being told no, moved on to find themselves in positions that were so much better for them.
A manager in NYC told me “you’re for tv not stand up” and that “the road isn’t for women” and 2 years later, I sold out 5 shows at @CarolinesonBway & just toured 23 sold out shows in 14 days. #ShareYourRejections
— Amanda Seales ???? (@amandaseales) August 21, 2018
Spent years being told as nicely as possible that a career in the acting industry simply wasn't a viable option because there weren't enough roles for disabled people in the industry. Now I earn a living from a role for a disabled character. #ShareYourRejections
— James Moore (@jamesmooreactor) August 18, 2018
A production company rejected a pilot my writing partner @ItsJoshFeldman and I wrote because they “didn’t understand why these characters were deaf.” We made the pilot ourselves. Now #ThisClose is gearing up for its second season on @sundance_now. #ShareYourRejections
— Shoshannah Stern (@Shoshannah7) August 18, 2018
READ MORE: The #FatatFashionWeek hashtag made us feel like we were all invited to the party
When a student stood up to prevent an Afghan man’s deportation
Resistance against Trump's stance and policies on immigration has gained worldwide momentum and activists from all over the world condemn and are taking action against civil rights violations.
One brave Swedish student, in a move that’s been hailed as brave and empowering, took a stand and bought a ticket for a plane when she found out one of the passengers would be an Afghan man that was being deported.
Elin Ersson knew that if the man was going to be deported, there’d be a good chance that he’d be killed. She also knew that by refusing to be seated, the plane wouldn’t be able to take off. In doing so, she delayed the flight entirely and prevented his deportation.
While this may or may not have changed his fate, the fact that she took such a bold stand was nothing short of courageous, and proves that there are people out there who care and who are fighting for equality every day.
The Caster Semenya Nike ad (actually, Nike in general TBH)
Yes, alright, we were looking for another excuse to feature this gem of an ad. In times where the voices against bigotry need to be louder than ever, seeing a company taking a firm stance, while at the same time offering us nothing but sheer and heart-warming inspiration – has moved many.
Watch the Nike ad below, if you haven’t already.
When you’re born to do it - just do it. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/oIf0j2WpM9
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) September 11, 2018