Ltle Richard was anti-gay when he died, but his queer cultural fluence overshadows all

LTLE RICHARD WAS ANTI-GAY WHEN HE DIED, BUT HIS QUEER CULTURAL FLUENCE OVERSHADOWS ALL
LTLE RICHARD CALLS SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS ''UNNATURAL AFFECTNS'' YEARS AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY
LTLE RICHARD: THE RIVETG SHOWMANSHIP AND TORTURED SEXUALY THAT BUILT ROCK AND ROLLTHE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW DOC LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG ON THE FORCE OF NATURE WHO SPIRED ELVIS, THE BEATL, PRCE, AND MORE.BY ALAN LIGHTAPRIL 18, 2023BY MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIV/GETTY IMAG.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIN HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK, BOB DYLAN WROTE THAT HIS AMBN WAS “TO JO LTLE RICHARD.” THE FIRST SONG PL MCCARTNEY PERFORMED PUBLIC WAS RICHARD’S “LONG TALL SALLY” (WHICH WAS ALSO THE VERY LAST SONG THE BEATL EVER PLAYED ON STAGE). DAVID BOWIE SAID THAT WHOUT LTLE RICHARD, “I WOULDN’T HAVE GONE TO MIC.” JIMI HENDRIX PLAYED RICHARD’S BAND, UNTIL HE GOT FIRED, AND JAM BROWN’S BIG BREAK ME AS A LTLE RICHARD IMPERSONATOR.SO WHEN ONE OF THE MENTATORS THE NEW DOCUMENTARY LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG ASSERTS THAT “HIS DNA IS EVERYWHERE,” HE’S NOT EXAGGERATG. THE TURBOCHARGED FORCE OF NATURE BORN RICHARD WAYNE PENNIMAN PROUDLY, NSTANTLY, TOLD EVERYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN THAT HE WAS “THE NOVATOR, THE ORIGATOR, THE EMANCIPATOR, THE ARCHECT” OF ROCK & ROLL. BUT WHEN HE DIED 2020, DIRECTOR LISA CORTÉS NOTED THAT SPE THE WI RANGE OF TRIBUT BEG PAID TO THIS TOWERG PNEER, NOT ONLY WAS THERE NO LTLE RICHARD BPIC (UNLIKE HIS NTEMPORARI ELVIS PRLEY, BUDDY HOLLY, AND JERRY LEE LEWIS), BUT NO ONE HAD ATTEMPTED A DOCUMENTARY.“AS A FILMMAKER, ’S TNIP TO HAVE SUCH A BIG STORY TO EXPLORE,” SAYS CORTÉS. “BUT 'S ALSO SRY BEE YOU N'T TELL EVERYTHG. SO THAT WAS A UNIQUE CHALLENGE—WHAT IS THE LENS, WHO HAS AGENCY, WHO HAS THE MIC? AND WHAT IS GOG TO BE REVELATORY ABOUT AN DIVIDUAL AND THE EFFECTS OF THEIR BEG SUCH A TRANSGRSIVE FIGURE ON CULTURE?”IN THE SE OF LTLE RICHARD, CORTÉS (-DIRECTOR OF ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY, PRODUCER OF THE EMMY-WNG THE APOLLO, AND AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF OSR WNER PREC) WAS SIGNG UP FOR A BIG JOB. THERE’S THE NEED TO ADDRS THE UNRAPPRECIATED LEGACY OF AN ARTIST WHO LOOKED AND SOUND LIKE NOTHG THAT HAD E BEFORE—A WHIRLWD OF EXCS AND SHOWMANSHIP, BLSED WH UNTAMABLE WILDNS AND ONE OF THE GREATT PURE SGG VOIC POP HISTORY. THROUGH WELL-CHOSEN CLIPS AND TERVIEWS WH MICK JAGGER, TOM JON, AND NILE RODGERS, CORTÉS ILLTRAT THE FE FLUENCE OF LTLE RICHARD, BEYOND THE MORE OBV ALYT (HENDRIX, PRCE, MICHAEL JACKSON) ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH LIL NAS X, HARRY STYL, AND LIZZO.THE DIRECTOR, WHO STARTED HER REER THE MIC DTRY, NOT THAT BY THE TIME SHE WAS GROWG UP THE ‘80S, RICHARD HAD LARGELY BEEN RCED TO A ONE-NOTE RITURE, PERPETUALLY SHOUTG “SHUT UP!” ON TALK SHOWS. “MAKG THIS FILM WAS AN OPPORTUNY TO REALLY DISTILL HIM TO HIS SENCE,” SHE SAYS, “AND TO SEE THAT HIS SENCE NTAS MULTUS. UNFORTUNATELY, I THK FOR MANY PEOPLE, ALL THAT THEY RELATED WAS THE SURFACE PERFORMANCE, AND DIDN'T GIVE ANY GREATER SPACE TO HIS PTH.”BUT THE FILM’S MORE PLITED PROJECT IS UNPACKG RICHARD’S NTRADICTORY, TORTURED RELATNSHIP TO HIS OWN SEXUALY. AS LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG MONSTRAT, HE TOOK SPIRATN, BOTH STYLE AND INTY, OM BRAVE GAY MICIANS WHO PRECED AND ENURAGED HIM, AND EVEN WORKED DRAG AS PRCS LAVONNE ON THE SOUTHERN “CHL’ CIRCU.” FOR S, THOUGH, HE ALTERNATED BETWEEN CELEBRATG AND DISAVOWG HIS HOMOSEXUALY.IN ONE ARCHIVAL CLIP, HE ARGU THAT HE WAS BETTER ACCEPTED AS A RULT OF EMPHASIZG HIS QUEERNS (“IF I DIDN’T LOOK FEME, I ULDN’T WORK THE WHE CLUBS”); ANOTHER, HE TELLS DAVID LETTERMAN THAT “I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GAY PEOPLE TO E OUT” BEFORE “GOD LET ME KNOW THAT HE MA ADAM TO BE WH EVE, NOT STEVE!” AND AT THE PEAK OF HIS FAME, HE HAS A VISN THAT ANGELS SAVE HIS FLIGHT TO ATRALIA OM CRASHG, RENOUNC ROCK & ROLL AND S NT LIFTYLE, AND ENROLLS BIBLE SCHOOL.“TO TELL THIS STORY WH RICHNS. I HAD TO LOOK AT RICHARD’S WORDS,” SAYS CORTÉS. “RICHARD’S LIKE ‘YEAH, I ED TO BE GAY, BUT I'M NOT GAY ANYMORE—'S AN ABOMATN.’ I'M NOT GOG TO BOWDLERIZE HIS STORY, BUT I'M LETTG HIM TELL .”WH HIS HIGH POMPADOUR AND MASRA, RICHARD’S E OF QUEER ATHETICS IS APPARENT, BUT HIS ACTUAL RELATNSHIPS ARE MORE NFG TO NSIR. IN THE FILM, WE HEAR OM HIS LONGTIME PANN, LEE ANGEL, THAT SHE WAS “THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE,” AND OM HIS FORMER WIFE, ERNTE, WHO NTACTED THE PRODUCTN JT AS THE FILM WAS WRAPPG TO ADD HER THOUGHTS.CORTÉS POTS OUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SIR LADY JAVA, A GROUNDBREAKG TRANS PERFORMER WHO BEIEND RICHARD SOON AFTER HE MOVED WH HIS FAY OM MAN, GEIA, TO LOS ANGEL 1959. “SHE TELLS THE TTH ABOUT THE HARM HE ED, BUT SHE UNRSTOOD THAT HE WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH,” THE DIRECTOR SAYS. “LADY JAVA IS REALLY SPEAKG FOR HIS EXPERIENC AS A GAY PERSON A WAY THAT HE PUBLICLY DID NOT SPEAK ABOUT THAT MUCH.”MOST POPULARAND JT LIKE THAT… PREPAR FOR ITS LAST SUPPERBY CHRIS MURPHYRACHEL LEVISS SEEMGLY QUS VANRPUMP RUL WH HELP FROM BETHENNY FRANKELBY SAVANNAH WALSHPRCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE’S HEART OF INVICT NETFLIX DOC GETS A TRAILER AND RELEASE DATEBY KASE WICKMANPROFSOR, MICIAN, AND JOURNALIST JASON KG OFFERS A SUCCCT STATEMENT OF LTLE RICHARD’S PROFOUND DILEMMA. “HE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD AT LIBERATG OTHER PEOPLE THROUGH HIS EXAMPLE,” HE SAYS. “HE WAS NOT GOOD AT LIBERATG HIMSELF.” (KG IS ONE OF A GROUP OF TENTNALLY CHOSEN YOUNG BLACK AND QUEER SCHOLARS WHO OFFER MENTARY THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENTARY.)THROUGH ALL HIS TERNAL TENSN, THERE’S ALWAYS THE SHEER POWER OF WATCHG LTLE RICHARD HIMSELF. WHENEVER HE ON SCREEN—PERFORMG OR JT TALKG (TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE’S A DIFFERENCE)—’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AWAY. THE HAIR, THE EY, THE SUS, THE PIANO PLAYG, THE PERSONA, AND, OF URSE, THE SGG…THERE HAS SIMPLY NEVER BEEN ANYONE LIKE HIM.“WH THIS FILM. I WANT YOU TO FEEL THE JOY, I WANT YOU TO FEEL THE NFLICT AND THE POWER OF THE MIC,” SAYS CORTÉS. “IT'S MORE THAN CRADLE-TO-GRAVE, ‘TUTTI FTTI,’ ‘JENNY JENNY,’ THEN HE'S ON PEE-WEE HERMAN. HE'S GOT NUANC AND LAYERS OR—HERE’S A NEW WORD THAT WAS TRODUCED TO ME TODAY—HE IS IMBRITED. IT'S LIKE THE TIL ON A ROOF, LAYERED ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER.“HOW DO YOU BUILD AN ART FORM AND A GENRE?,” SHE NTU. “IT’S NOT JT FLOOR-BY-FLOOR. THERE’S AN NER STCTURAL TEGRY THAT RICHARD BROUGHT TO THE MIC. AND KEEPG WH RICHARD'S ANARCHIC SPIR, I WANT TO SHAKE UP.”MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, INHERG GRACELAND, AND MORETE CRIME, TE FAH: THE SERIAL KILLER AND THE TEXAS MOM WHO STOPPED HIMTHE TAN SUBMERSIBLE DISASTER WAS YEARS THE MAKG, NEW DETAILS REVEALWHY THE GEIA INDICTMENT AGAST TMP AND HIS ALLI IS THE MOST SWEEPG YETIVANKA TMP IS NOT LETTG HER DAD’S MOUNTG LEGAL WO RU HER SUMMERA NEW SLIM AARONS BOOK CAPTUR A LOST WORLDTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWFROM THE ARCHIVE: TOO HEPBURN FOR HOLLYWOOD (2006)ALAN LIGHT

Take the jump blu of Billy Wright, the “slow drag” vol style of Big Maybelle, or the “hip shak’ mama” Patsy Vidalia, the drag queen who MCed New Orleans club the Dew Drop Inn and threw the cy’s annual Gay Ball. Although he’s hailed as a queer in and a self-scribed “The Kg and Queen of Rock and Roll, ” his flamboyant inic style differed om the anti-gay Christiany he poed later life, leavg behd a tly nflicted legacy.

His dad then kicked him out for beg gay at age 15 and was shot and killed by a ctomer outsi of his own nightclub when Richard was 19. Related: 3 gay micians jt got fired om their Catholic church bee, you know… gay.

The song was a fast-spired romp about gay terurse.

LTLE RICHARD CALLS SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS ''UNNATURAL AFFECTNS'' YEARS AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

In 1984, s after his last big h, he said that homosexualy was “unnatural” and “ntag” an terview, and by March 1985, he announced a public sermon:. “I have rejected homosexualy.

LTLE RICHARD: THE RIVETG SHOWMANSHIP AND TORTURED SEXUALY THAT BUILT ROCK AND ROLLTHE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW DOC LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG ON THE FORCE OF NATURE WHO SPIRED ELVIS, THE BEATL, PRCE, AND MORE.BY ALAN LIGHTAPRIL 18, 2023BY MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIV/GETTY IMAG.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIN HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK, BOB DYLAN WROTE THAT HIS AMBN WAS “TO JO LTLE RICHARD.” THE FIRST SONG PL MCCARTNEY PERFORMED PUBLIC WAS RICHARD’S “LONG TALL SALLY” (WHICH WAS ALSO THE VERY LAST SONG THE BEATL EVER PLAYED ON STAGE). DAVID BOWIE SAID THAT WHOUT LTLE RICHARD, “I WOULDN’T HAVE GONE TO MIC.” JIMI HENDRIX PLAYED RICHARD’S BAND, UNTIL HE GOT FIRED, AND JAM BROWN’S BIG BREAK ME AS A LTLE RICHARD IMPERSONATOR.SO WHEN ONE OF THE MENTATORS THE NEW DOCUMENTARY LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG ASSERTS THAT “HIS DNA IS EVERYWHERE,” HE’S NOT EXAGGERATG. THE TURBOCHARGED FORCE OF NATURE BORN RICHARD WAYNE PENNIMAN PROUDLY, NSTANTLY, TOLD EVERYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN THAT HE WAS “THE NOVATOR, THE ORIGATOR, THE EMANCIPATOR, THE ARCHECT” OF ROCK & ROLL. BUT WHEN HE DIED 2020, DIRECTOR LISA CORTÉS NOTED THAT SPE THE WI RANGE OF TRIBUT BEG PAID TO THIS TOWERG PNEER, NOT ONLY WAS THERE NO LTLE RICHARD BPIC (UNLIKE HIS NTEMPORARI ELVIS PRLEY, BUDDY HOLLY, AND JERRY LEE LEWIS), BUT NO ONE HAD ATTEMPTED A DOCUMENTARY.“AS A FILMMAKER, ’S TNIP TO HAVE SUCH A BIG STORY TO EXPLORE,” SAYS CORTÉS. “BUT 'S ALSO SRY BEE YOU N'T TELL EVERYTHG. SO THAT WAS A UNIQUE CHALLENGE—WHAT IS THE LENS, WHO HAS AGENCY, WHO HAS THE MIC? AND WHAT IS GOG TO BE REVELATORY ABOUT AN DIVIDUAL AND THE EFFECTS OF THEIR BEG SUCH A TRANSGRSIVE FIGURE ON CULTURE?”IN THE SE OF LTLE RICHARD, CORTÉS (-DIRECTOR OF ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY, PRODUCER OF THE EMMY-WNG THE APOLLO, AND AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF OSR WNER PREC) WAS SIGNG UP FOR A BIG JOB. THERE’S THE NEED TO ADDRS THE UNRAPPRECIATED LEGACY OF AN ARTIST WHO LOOKED AND SOUND LIKE NOTHG THAT HAD E BEFORE—A WHIRLWD OF EXCS AND SHOWMANSHIP, BLSED WH UNTAMABLE WILDNS AND ONE OF THE GREATT PURE SGG VOIC POP HISTORY. THROUGH WELL-CHOSEN CLIPS AND TERVIEWS WH MICK JAGGER, TOM JON, AND NILE RODGERS, CORTÉS ILLTRAT THE FE FLUENCE OF LTLE RICHARD, BEYOND THE MORE OBV ALYT (HENDRIX, PRCE, MICHAEL JACKSON) ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH LIL NAS X, HARRY STYL, AND LIZZO.THE DIRECTOR, WHO STARTED HER REER THE MIC DTRY, NOT THAT BY THE TIME SHE WAS GROWG UP THE ‘80S, RICHARD HAD LARGELY BEEN RCED TO A ONE-NOTE RITURE, PERPETUALLY SHOUTG “SHUT UP!” ON TALK SHOWS. “MAKG THIS FILM WAS AN OPPORTUNY TO REALLY DISTILL HIM TO HIS SENCE,” SHE SAYS, “AND TO SEE THAT HIS SENCE NTAS MULTUS. UNFORTUNATELY, I THK FOR MANY PEOPLE, ALL THAT THEY RELATED WAS THE SURFACE PERFORMANCE, AND DIDN'T GIVE ANY GREATER SPACE TO HIS PTH.”BUT THE FILM’S MORE PLITED PROJECT IS UNPACKG RICHARD’S NTRADICTORY, TORTURED RELATNSHIP TO HIS OWN SEXUALY. AS LTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHG MONSTRAT, HE TOOK SPIRATN, BOTH STYLE AND INTY, OM BRAVE GAY MICIANS WHO PRECED AND ENURAGED HIM, AND EVEN WORKED DRAG AS PRCS LAVONNE ON THE SOUTHERN “CHL’ CIRCU.” FOR S, THOUGH, HE ALTERNATED BETWEEN CELEBRATG AND DISAVOWG HIS HOMOSEXUALY.IN ONE ARCHIVAL CLIP, HE ARGU THAT HE WAS BETTER ACCEPTED AS A RULT OF EMPHASIZG HIS QUEERNS (“IF I DIDN’T LOOK FEME, I ULDN’T WORK THE WHE CLUBS”); ANOTHER, HE TELLS DAVID LETTERMAN THAT “I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GAY PEOPLE TO E OUT” BEFORE “GOD LET ME KNOW THAT HE MA ADAM TO BE WH EVE, NOT STEVE!” AND AT THE PEAK OF HIS FAME, HE HAS A VISN THAT ANGELS SAVE HIS FLIGHT TO ATRALIA OM CRASHG, RENOUNC ROCK & ROLL AND S NT LIFTYLE, AND ENROLLS BIBLE SCHOOL.“TO TELL THIS STORY WH RICHNS. I HAD TO LOOK AT RICHARD’S WORDS,” SAYS CORTÉS. “RICHARD’S LIKE ‘YEAH, I ED TO BE GAY, BUT I'M NOT GAY ANYMORE—'S AN ABOMATN.’ I'M NOT GOG TO BOWDLERIZE HIS STORY, BUT I'M LETTG HIM TELL .”WH HIS HIGH POMPADOUR AND MASRA, RICHARD’S E OF QUEER ATHETICS IS APPARENT, BUT HIS ACTUAL RELATNSHIPS ARE MORE NFG TO NSIR. IN THE FILM, WE HEAR OM HIS LONGTIME PANN, LEE ANGEL, THAT SHE WAS “THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE,” AND OM HIS FORMER WIFE, ERNTE, WHO NTACTED THE PRODUCTN JT AS THE FILM WAS WRAPPG TO ADD HER THOUGHTS.CORTÉS POTS OUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SIR LADY JAVA, A GROUNDBREAKG TRANS PERFORMER WHO BEIEND RICHARD SOON AFTER HE MOVED WH HIS FAY OM MAN, GEIA, TO LOS ANGEL 1959. “SHE TELLS THE TTH ABOUT THE HARM HE ED, BUT SHE UNRSTOOD THAT HE WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH,” THE DIRECTOR SAYS. “LADY JAVA IS REALLY SPEAKG FOR HIS EXPERIENC AS A GAY PERSON A WAY THAT HE PUBLICLY DID NOT SPEAK ABOUT THAT MUCH.”MOST POPULARAND JT LIKE THAT… PREPAR FOR ITS LAST SUPPERBY CHRIS MURPHYRACHEL LEVISS SEEMGLY QUS VANRPUMP RUL WH HELP FROM BETHENNY FRANKELBY SAVANNAH WALSHPRCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE’S HEART OF INVICT NETFLIX DOC GETS A TRAILER AND RELEASE DATEBY KASE WICKMANPROFSOR, MICIAN, AND JOURNALIST JASON KG OFFERS A SUCCCT STATEMENT OF LTLE RICHARD’S PROFOUND DILEMMA. “HE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD AT LIBERATG OTHER PEOPLE THROUGH HIS EXAMPLE,” HE SAYS. “HE WAS NOT GOOD AT LIBERATG HIMSELF.” (KG IS ONE OF A GROUP OF TENTNALLY CHOSEN YOUNG BLACK AND QUEER SCHOLARS WHO OFFER MENTARY THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENTARY.)THROUGH ALL HIS TERNAL TENSN, THERE’S ALWAYS THE SHEER POWER OF WATCHG LTLE RICHARD HIMSELF. WHENEVER HE ON SCREEN—PERFORMG OR JT TALKG (TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE’S A DIFFERENCE)—’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AWAY. THE HAIR, THE EY, THE SUS, THE PIANO PLAYG, THE PERSONA, AND, OF URSE, THE SGG…THERE HAS SIMPLY NEVER BEEN ANYONE LIKE HIM.“WH THIS FILM. I WANT YOU TO FEEL THE JOY, I WANT YOU TO FEEL THE NFLICT AND THE POWER OF THE MIC,” SAYS CORTÉS. “IT'S MORE THAN CRADLE-TO-GRAVE, ‘TUTTI FTTI,’ ‘JENNY JENNY,’ THEN HE'S ON PEE-WEE HERMAN. HE'S GOT NUANC AND LAYERS OR—HERE’S A NEW WORD THAT WAS TRODUCED TO ME TODAY—HE IS IMBRITED. IT'S LIKE THE TIL ON A ROOF, LAYERED ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER.“HOW DO YOU BUILD AN ART FORM AND A GENRE?,” SHE NTU. “IT’S NOT JT FLOOR-BY-FLOOR. THERE’S AN NER STCTURAL TEGRY THAT RICHARD BROUGHT TO THE MIC. AND KEEPG WH RICHARD'S ANARCHIC SPIR, I WANT TO SHAKE UP.”MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, INHERG GRACELAND, AND MORETE CRIME, TE FAH: THE SERIAL KILLER AND THE TEXAS MOM WHO STOPPED HIMTHE TAN SUBMERSIBLE DISASTER WAS YEARS THE MAKG, NEW DETAILS REVEALWHY THE GEIA INDICTMENT AGAST TMP AND HIS ALLI IS THE MOST SWEEPG YETIVANKA TMP IS NOT LETTG HER DAD’S MOUNTG LEGAL WO RU HER SUMMERA NEW SLIM AARONS BOOK CAPTUR A LOST WORLDTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWFROM THE ARCHIVE: TOO HEPBURN FOR HOLLYWOOD (2006)ALAN LIGHT

Now I get my thrills om the mistry… My te belief about Rock and Roll- and there have been alot of phras attributed to me over the years-is this: I believe this kd of mic is monic… If [God] n save Ltle Richard he n save anybody… I talk about my life as a homosexual and dg addict bee I thk is right to tell people what God has done for me.

Richard later went on David Letterman’s late-night talk show, explag that when he was gay, he wasn’t a man, but now that he was a man, he uld experience sex wh a woman.

In 1995, Richard said he has “been gay all my life” an terview wh Penthoe, but by 2000, he told JET was all an act. ” Yet, by 2017, Richard ma a veiled reference to homosexualy as an “unnatural affectn. One n’t merely say that Ltle Richard died a homophobe or renounced his queerns when his life and persona as a queer entertaer ma such a cultural impact, makg “male vany” a regular part of rock and fluencg generatns of performers afterwards.

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