Nicki Maj wants her gay fans to know she supports them and that "suici is never the answer."
Contents:
- NICKI MAJ EMBRAC GAY FAN BASE, “THEY’RE DEFELY A BIG PART OF MY MOVEMENT” [VIO]
- NICKI MAJ CANCELS SDI ARABIA SHOW SUPPORT OF GAY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- NICKI MAJ TELLS HER GAY FANS: 'SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER''I KNOW THAT THGS ALWAYS GET BETTER,' MC {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}CELEBRIBY JOCELYN VENAOCTOBER 1, 2010/12:02 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}BY JOCELYN VENAOCTOBER 1, 2010 / 12:02 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"NICKI MAJ TELLS HER GAY FANS: 'SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER'","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2010-10-01T16:02:17.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2010-10-01T16:02:17.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"JOCELYN VENA","ARTICLESECTN":"CELEBRI"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}OUTSPOKEN MC NICKI MAJ HAS [ARTICLE ID="1647740"]SAID THAT SHE WANTS TO HELP ERADITE HOMOPHOBIA HIP-HOP[/ARTICLE]. WH THE RECENT RASH OF [ARTICLE ID="1649057"]SUICIS BY GAY YOUTHS[/ARTICLE] WHO HAVE BEEN BULLIED BEE OF THEIR SEXUALY, MAJ IS NOW REACHG OUT TO TELL HER FANS, POT BLANK, THAT "SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I WOULD ENURAGE MY GAY FANS TO BE FIGHTERS AND TO BE BRAVE," SHE TOLD MTV NEWS. "PEOPLE FACE DIFFICULTI, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE. I FACED DIFFICULTI WH A LOT OF THGS. I FACE OPPOSN EVERY DAY, BUT I DIDN'T KILL MYSELF AND NOW, THANK GOD, I'M HERE. SO I WANT MY LIFE TO BE A TTIMONY TO MY FANS AND MY GAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I MEAN I ULD NEVER IMAGE WHAT THEY'RE GOG THROUGH," SHE NTUED. "BUT I KNOW THAT SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER AND I KNOW THAT THGS ALWAYS GET BETTER. SO I'M SUPPORTG YOU GUYS. I LOVE YOU VERY, VERY MUCH AND FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LOVE YOU, THEY NEED HELP."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAJ ADD THAT SHE THKS KNOWG THE MOTIVATNS OF BULLI ULD HELP THOSE BEG TNTED FEEL STRONGER. "I DON'T AGREE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE WH EVERYONE'S LIFTYLE. I THK THAT SOME PEOPLE AREN'T GOG TO AGREE, BUT I THK THAT WHEN YOU'RE MEAN AND WHEN YOU RIDICULE PEOPLE 'S A SIGN OF YOUR OWN SECURI," SHE EXPLAED. "SO SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY KEN AND BARBI OUT THERE AND MY GIRLS TOO; JT BELIEVE THAT THGS WILL GET BETTER AND THEY WILL THEY ALWAYS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IT JT TAK A LTLE WILLPOWER. THERE'S AN ANSWER. THERE'S ALWAYS A DIFFERENT WAY THAT YOU N FIGHT PEOPLE BACK," SHE NTUED. "AND FELY [WH] SUICI YOU'RE GIVG UP AND I DON'T PROMOTE GIVG UP. I PROMOTE FIGHTG AND WNG."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAJ JOS [ARTICLE ID="1649101"]GOSSIP BLOGGER PEREZ HILTON[/ARTICLE], [ARTICLE ID="1649114"]LUMNIST DAN SAVAGE[/ARTICLE] AND [ARTICLE ID="1649120"]TALK SHOW HOST ELLEN DEGENER[/ARTICLE] SPEAKG OUT AGAST BULLYG AND SUPPORT OF GAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MTV'S ONGOG "A TH LE" PROJECT [ARTICLE ID="1627487"]PROVIS STORI AND ROURC[/ARTICLE] FOR ANYONE WHO BELIEV THEY ARE BEG CYBERBULLIED OR WHO IS LOOKG FOR WAYS TO STOP HARASSMENT BY DIGAL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
- NICKI MAJ AND YUNG MIAMI ARE IN A WAR OF WORDS OVER ‘GAY SLANG’ AND DIDDY GOT DRAGGED INTO IT
- EVE - WHEN ASKED IF THE RAPPER WAS FORTABLE WH HER GAY FOLLOWG SHE SAID, "FIRST OF ALL, THE GAYS, WHEN THEY LOVE YOU, THEY LOVE YOU. THEY ARE VERY LOYAL. I HAVE A HUGE GAY MEN FAN BASE — I LOVE THEM." (PHOTO: MATTEO VALLE/GETTY IMAG)
NICKI MAJ EMBRAC GAY FAN BASE, “THEY’RE DEFELY A BIG PART OF MY MOVEMENT” [VIO]
* niki minaj gay *
Rapper Nicki Maj Talks Sexualy and “No Homo” Wh Out Mag.
Do rapper Nicki Maj have what tak to change rap’s homophobic landspe? That’s the qutn at In a wi-rangg feature, the 25-year-old newer discs why "barbie" is a worse sult than "bch, " how she stopped g the phrase "no homo, " and that ’s an honor to have gay men impersonate her bee "they only impersonate the bt.
1437516854A month before Nicki's "Ananda" vio dropped, Sierra Mannie took "whe gays" to task for "pillagg...
NICKI MAJ CANCELS SDI ARABIA SHOW SUPPORT OF GAY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
"RELATED | The Cur Case of Nicki MajBlack women al wh both sexism and racism a unique way scribed by the activist Moya Bailey g the term "misogynoir, " and if they are queer or trans, homophobia and transphobia layered atop . This tersectn of race and genr often go unacknowledged by queer, straight, black, and whe men, leadg to black women of every orientatn beg left out of movements, phed asi and vlated, even while they are beg relied upon for support and Maj, her own place of privilege, ma salient observatns about awards and a posn of celebry that most of will never have accs to, but the pot remas the same: Black women ntribute much to society and often get ltle to nothg last year, Azealia Banks me unr fire for her e of the word "faggot" to scribe the gay blogger Perez Hilton.
NICKI MAJ TELLS HER GAY FANS: 'SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER''I KNOW THAT THGS ALWAYS GET BETTER,' MC {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}CELEBRIBY JOCELYN VENAOCTOBER 1, 2010/12:02 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}BY JOCELYN VENAOCTOBER 1, 2010 / 12:02 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"NICKI MAJ TELLS HER GAY FANS: 'SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER'","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2010-10-01T16:02:17.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2010-10-01T16:02:17.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"JOCELYN VENA","ARTICLESECTN":"CELEBRI"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}OUTSPOKEN MC NICKI MAJ HAS [ARTICLE ID="1647740"]SAID THAT SHE WANTS TO HELP ERADITE HOMOPHOBIA HIP-HOP[/ARTICLE]. WH THE RECENT RASH OF [ARTICLE ID="1649057"]SUICIS BY GAY YOUTHS[/ARTICLE] WHO HAVE BEEN BULLIED BEE OF THEIR SEXUALY, MAJ IS NOW REACHG OUT TO TELL HER FANS, POT BLANK, THAT "SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I WOULD ENURAGE MY GAY FANS TO BE FIGHTERS AND TO BE BRAVE," SHE TOLD MTV NEWS. "PEOPLE FACE DIFFICULTI, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE. I FACED DIFFICULTI WH A LOT OF THGS. I FACE OPPOSN EVERY DAY, BUT I DIDN'T KILL MYSELF AND NOW, THANK GOD, I'M HERE. SO I WANT MY LIFE TO BE A TTIMONY TO MY FANS AND MY GAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I MEAN I ULD NEVER IMAGE WHAT THEY'RE GOG THROUGH," SHE NTUED. "BUT I KNOW THAT SUICI IS NEVER THE ANSWER AND I KNOW THAT THGS ALWAYS GET BETTER. SO I'M SUPPORTG YOU GUYS. I LOVE YOU VERY, VERY MUCH AND FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LOVE YOU, THEY NEED HELP."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAJ ADD THAT SHE THKS KNOWG THE MOTIVATNS OF BULLI ULD HELP THOSE BEG TNTED FEEL STRONGER. "I DON'T AGREE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE WH EVERYONE'S LIFTYLE. I THK THAT SOME PEOPLE AREN'T GOG TO AGREE, BUT I THK THAT WHEN YOU'RE MEAN AND WHEN YOU RIDICULE PEOPLE 'S A SIGN OF YOUR OWN SECURI," SHE EXPLAED. "SO SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY KEN AND BARBI OUT THERE AND MY GIRLS TOO; JT BELIEVE THAT THGS WILL GET BETTER AND THEY WILL THEY ALWAYS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IT JT TAK A LTLE WILLPOWER. THERE'S AN ANSWER. THERE'S ALWAYS A DIFFERENT WAY THAT YOU N FIGHT PEOPLE BACK," SHE NTUED. "AND FELY [WH] SUICI YOU'RE GIVG UP AND I DON'T PROMOTE GIVG UP. I PROMOTE FIGHTG AND WNG."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAJ JOS [ARTICLE ID="1649101"]GOSSIP BLOGGER PEREZ HILTON[/ARTICLE], [ARTICLE ID="1649114"]LUMNIST DAN SAVAGE[/ARTICLE] AND [ARTICLE ID="1649120"]TALK SHOW HOST ELLEN DEGENER[/ARTICLE] SPEAKG OUT AGAST BULLYG AND SUPPORT OF GAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MTV'S ONGOG "A TH LE" PROJECT [ARTICLE ID="1627487"]PROVIS STORI AND ROURC[/ARTICLE] FOR ANYONE WHO BELIEV THEY ARE BEG CYBERBULLIED OR WHO IS LOOKG FOR WAYS TO STOP HARASSMENT BY DIGAL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
A few months later, an terview wh QutQ's Xorje Olivar on Siri XM, Banks stated, "I fely thk a lot of the time wh the 'whe gay media' - pecially wh female artists - orr for you to seem succsful or seem feme you have to sire their approval.
I feel like a lot of tim gay men n be way more misogynistic than even straight men. "RELATED | Throwback Thursday: Nicki Maj Wigs Out for Out MagazeThe pot, shroud Banks' own abily to regnize how her language, too, n be opprsive, was that black women are often seen by queer men simply as objects signed for our entertament, and once they assert their humany, we often lose our tert my vios serve VMas and my album serv a Grammy but I'll never get one bee Ameri don't like opnated black ' e and fense of homophobic language was wrong. Too often we get wrapped up how homophobia affects to the triment of a scere analysis of how our actns affect others.
NICKI MAJ AND YUNG MIAMI ARE IN A WAR OF WORDS OVER ‘GAY SLANG’ AND DIDDY GOT DRAGGED INTO IT
RELATED | Let Azealia RockIt's no secret that many black female celebri have huge gay male followgs, but when black women aren't slayg on the stage or televisn and they need , where are we? LGBTQ fans have even acced Maj of g homophobic sults to take down male the album's send track "Majty, " Maj raps:“Who want wh Nicki now/I smoke ‘em like hippi now/they see me say ‘Yippie’ now/home nn’ like Griffey now/they swch’ like sissi now/you niggas is iffy now. "Maj appears to be puttg down Young Thug wh gay stereotyp, mak fun of lisps, men wearg drs, and even qutns if he is actually heterosexual.
The homophobia, fat shamg, ableism, femmephobia, and sh is annoyg. 1533932673\u201cI do wonr if some of the cis women that make gay/trans jok realize that they\u2019re playg to the hands of the patriarchy that se anythg their likens as weak.
EVE - WHEN ASKED IF THE RAPPER WAS FORTABLE WH HER GAY FOLLOWG SHE SAID, "FIRST OF ALL, THE GAYS, WHEN THEY LOVE YOU, THEY LOVE YOU. THEY ARE VERY LOYAL. I HAVE A HUGE GAY MEN FAN BASE — I LOVE THEM." (PHOTO: MATTEO VALLE/GETTY IMAG)
Young Money rapper Nicki Maj opens up about her gay fan base and how much of an impact they have on her movement the new issue of Out magaze. In her feature, Maj also reveals Lil Wayne‘s uneass toward gay fans. “Obvly, the majory of the men hip-hop don’t want you to thk they’re gay.
And I don’t lose credibily any way if I say I thk girls are dope and sexy…Normally, Wayne probably wouldn’t have gay guys g to see his shows much, but they’re fely a big part of my movement, and I hope they’d still e out and see me…I thk that will be really, really tertg, jt to start bridgg that gap.