Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? Remember that girl from high school who said she's only go out with you if the world was ending? Might be time to give her a call. Bill Baptist, who worked with the Houston Rockets for more than 30 years as an independent photographer, and was in the "NBA bubble" at Walt Disney World here in Florida, posted a fake logo for the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 2020 campaign on his Facebook page.
You can see the post here....
The NBA responded by letting Baptist go, with this statement, “The photographer is an independent contractor and his services are no longer being used in Orlando.” Bill Baptiste released a statement saying he “deeply regrets" posting the image that he “copied from others.” He continued, “The phrase I posted does not reflect my personal views at all." “I should not have been so insensitive to post the statements by others. I sincerely apologize to all of those who have rightfully been offended and I have taken the post down from my FB page. It was a horrible mistake on my part.”
Last week, the Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced his Vice Presidential pick is Senator Kamala Harris. The decision marks a historic moment, as Harris is both the first black woman and first person of Indian descent to join a major political party's ticket. While some were happy to hear the news, it didn't take long for Harris... whose parents are immigrants, to become the subject of conspiracy theories claiming she doesn't fit the requirements to be V.P. A (now widely discredited) op-ed was published in by the Conservative lawyer John C. Eastman, who argued against birthright citizenship, suggesting that while Harris was born in California, that doesn't immediately make her a citizen. It was not long before constitutional scholars and people with a basic grasp of how citizenship works chimed in to discredit the questions posed in the article. While others have clearly written off the op-ed, president Trump alluded to it on Thursday, suggesting Harris might not be fit for V.P. "I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements,” Trump told reporters. “I have no idea if that’s right. I would have thought, I would have assumed, that the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.” It didn't take long for people to draw connections between the birther theory Trump spread about Obama, and the current doubts being spread about Harris. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumped on Twitter to call out Trump for the overt racism of questioning the citizenship of Harris. Ocasio-Cortez pointed out how questions of citizenship and legitimacy are exclusively hurled at politicians who are POC, while white citizens born abroad don't face the same scrutiny. She continued by claiming these attacks on Harris, and others in the past, contribute to a culture that prizes and legitimizes whiteness over everything else. As with most things she posts, Ocasio-Cortez's comments were filled with people fighting, some in support of her point, and others in opposition. Given the heated way people are responding to Ocasio-Cortez's suggestion that it's racist to spread disproven theories about Harris' citizenship, it's clear this election will be an intense ride.
Be prepared to have your heart both warmed and broken and then warmed again. This is the saddest and most beautiful thing you’ll read today. I think I need a beer after reading it.
A 9-year-old boy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is eagerly awaiting adoption. All he wants is a family. That’s it. That’s all. Not a million dollars. Not a free ice cream for life. Not his own fire truck. Just a family. When asked a magic lamp/genie hypothetical... what would you do with three wishes... the little boy said his three wishes would be “family, family, family.”
I’ll give you a couple minutes to weep uncontrollably.
The boy’s name is Jordan, and he says he wants to be a police officer when he grows up. He has a little brother, whom he loves dearly and loves doing things with. His little brother’s name is Braison and he has already been adopted. Because of that Jordan doesn’t get to see his brother much anymore.
Regardless, Jordan, who has been awaiting an adoptive family since he was 3-years-old, remains optimistic and painfully sweet. He told Oklahoma’s News 4 that if he could go to anywhere in the entire world... Hawaii, Disney World, Italy, whatever... that the place he would want to go is an adoption party. For himself. He added that, “I would just like to have a family to call mom and dad or just mom or just dad. I don’t really care.”
Jordan was featured on Oklahoma’s News 4 because, again, he and they and now every human being with a soul who has seen his interview, are hoping he finds a forever family soon. ASAP. Like, now. Someone adopt this child.
Jordan is currently in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, living in a group home.
A South Korean YouTube star has been making headlines for all the right reasons because, if you’re a YouTube star, lighting your penis on fire is the right sort of reason to make headlines. And that’s what this guy did. He lit his junk on fire. On video. For our… entertainment? To be fair it’s pretty entertaining.
Shin Tae Il, who is also known as the “angry Korean gamer,” made a bet with one of his viewers which entailed that, if he didn’t get first place in a game of "Fall Guys," he would set his Johnson and Joes ablaze. So he lost. And set his dong on fire. Here is a pic from the now-deleted video.
In the since-deleted video Shin Tae Il is seen walking off-screen after losing the bet and then coming back on screen in nothing but his boxers and holding some lighter fluid. He then pours lighter fluid onto his junk, takes out a lighter, holds it up to the most precious part of his body, and does exactly what he said he was going to do. Then his crotch bursts into flame and he screams in pain. Because his penis is on fire.
Shin Tae Il later informed fans that he had to go to the hospital for second-degree burns. The Internet was a mistake. Humans were a mistake? I bet the guy who bet this dude to light his junk on fire feels pretty awesome right now. That will never be topped. He could win a hundred grand at the roulette table and it still wouldn’t feel as good as watching the idiot you bet to light his junk on fire pay up and light his junk on fire. I’d feel like God after that.
A North Carolina man is facing first-degree murder charges after shooting a five-year-old boy, who according to several reports, was riding his bike in his neighborhood. Authorities arrested 25-year-old Darius Sessoms after a brief search. The child was identified as Cannon Hinnant and died Sunday evening in Wilson North Carolina. Sessoms, who was a neighbor of Cannon’s father, allegedly rushed up to the boy and shot him point-blank in the head in front of his 7-year-old and 8-year-old sisters before running. The boy was quickly taken to the local hospital but died later that day.
According to the Wilson Police Department, Sessoms was located inside a Residence Inn Goldsboro, N.C which is 30 minutes south of Wilson, and 50 miles east of the state’s capital city Raleigh. The Wilson police department thanked for U.S. Marshals Carolina’s Violent Fugitive Task Force, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, and the Goldsboro Police Department for their assistance in arresting Sessoms. The suspect appeared for 10 minutes via video conference before a judge, where the judge formally advised him of the charges against him. He now has a probable cause hearing scheduled for August 25th. According to Cannon’s family, they’ve known the suspect for many years while living near each other.
Rachel Pipkin, a cousin of Cannon’s mother, stated, “We used to play together and I never thought he’d kill someone. A mother now has to lay her son to rest at 5-years-old which she should never have to do. He’ll never be forgotten.” The 5-year-old’s killing made national headlines, and the city mayor stated he was visibly shaking after the tragedy, paying his respects to the family. Carlton Steven, the mayor of Wilson, stated that he himself has a five-year-old which makes it even more tragic. He noted, “my heart broke right then. I went home right then and I took my baby and just hugged her.”
The family of the boy stated he was set to start kindergarten on Monday, but is now “ fulfilling animation with a higher power.” The family stated that the suspect’s arrest does not bring the little boy back but it does help them start to heal. They are now beginning the process of planning a funeral for the boy.
Man, instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album...
Hmmm... maybe not. I was thinking of getting a new tattoo but someone had the same idea I had...
Damn them. There's never been an easier time to help save lives. You don't need to be an essential worker (but if you are, I salute you!!!), you just simply have to put some fabric on your face when you go out.
While face coverings are a simple (and even fashionable) solution to help slow the spread of a deadly disease, many people remain stubborn. Shopowners and neighbors have taken to creative and catchy ways to remind people to hide their mouths and noses away.
No time for losers. There's a mask for every fashion and fandom, and there can also be a mask for every face. People order custom-made masks with photos of their face on them to try and achieve a realistic look. Try being the most important word.
Hahahahaha. That's almost creepy. So, most of you know my fashion choice is usually a t-shirt and shorts with sneakers or flip flops. Well, I'm thinking of changing that up. How about this outfit?
Nah. I'll stick to what I have. Haha. So, if I had a TARDIS I would go to see a hockey game.
But I'd probably end up seeing Boob Orr of the Boston Bruins sailing through the air after being tripped. Orr had just scored the game winning goal fort the Stanley Cup in 1970. It was an overtime goal in game 4. Bruins won the series 4-0. That's historical I think, right? Okay, so, a man is in the doghouse after he told his girlfriend she should start wearing makeup again and maybe consider lipo, and he's taken to the Phile to ask what he did wrong. Yes, really!
The man emailed me asking, "am I wrong for suggesting to my girlfriend she start wearing makeup again?" He starts the email by reassuring that his girlfriend is super hot.
"My girlfriend 'Maya' is the most beautiful woman on Earth, literally perfect from top to bottom. She was drafted by a really big modeling agency in L.A. while we were in college (how we met) and she made an unbelievable amount of money, enough to pay off all her student loans and buy us a house. We also have a 1-year-old son." She's also smarter than him, if you can believe that. "Like I said, I love everything about this woman... the way she dresses and does her hair, her perfume that smells amazing, and the confidence in how she carries herself is just so attractive. She’s also incredibly smart, much smarter than me.
But she's been down in the dumps for many reasons. Last year, though, Maya’s parents died in an unexpected accident, and while it wasn’t surprising to me that she was grieving at first, I was, however, surprised at just how bad it was, and before you call me an asshole for saying that, I had reason for it... Maya had cut contact with her parents when she moved to L.A. because they didn’t approve of her modeling career, and they only spoke again after her college graduation because she got a CS degree. That interaction did NOT go well, and Maya never talked to them again after that." She hasn't been doing her makeup because, aside from her parents' death, the world has been canceled for six months. "The main issue here is normally when Maya is upset about something, she will dress up and do her hair and makeup and go out to make herself feel better, but since the pandemic started, she hasn’t been able to go out, and so she stopped doing her makeup entirely. She’ll still braid her hair and wear nice outfits around the house, but I am concerned about her not doing her makeup." He also throws in that she doesn't seem to be eating enough according to him. "Another concerning thing, too is she basically stopped eating. Once I realized that she wasn’t eating any of the lunches I was packing for her work, I started making more heavy dinners every night like pastas, jambalaya, enchiladas, etc. otherwise she will try to live off nothing but peanut butter and celery. I can’t make her eat at work, but I can at least make sure she eats dinner every night." While they were eating dinner, she mentioned she'd like to get cosmetic surgery. "This all came to a head just a few hours ago... I made her steak and potatoes, and as we were eating, she started talking about how she wanted to get cosmetic surgery to get rid of the bags under her eyes. I told her she could always just start wearing makeup again, because she knows how to conceal that issue, anyway, right?" But he didn't stop at suggesting she wear makeup. "I also suggested that if we were gonna pay for plastic surgery, why not something like the 'mommy makeover' package I’ve heard about, because that would actually make her feel better about her body, not to mention it’s something that can’t just as easily be taken care of with makeup instead of surgery." She didn't take it well. "Maya just got really quiet, and after a really long and awkward silence, she told me she wanted to go to bed. After putting our son to bed, she went into our room and locked the door. When I knocked, she yelled at me to leave her alone, so I went to sleep in the guest room. When I tried to get her to eat this morning, she just snapped at me to leave her alone, and then went for a walk.
I need to know, am I wrong?" You are not only wrong, sir, but not very smart.
Your advice was not helpful. You didn't just suggest she wear makeup again. You suggested she have a much more serious plastic surgery than what she suggested. She's obviously feeling concerned about her weight and you just validated all her insecurities. Your main concern here is her lack of makeup and trying to get her plastic surgery? Really? You mention her not eating as an afterthought to makeup. I feel like your concern for her mental well-being is genuine, but you need to rearrange how you’re thinking of this.
Forget about the fucking makeup and getting her a tummy tuck and talk to her. You should've realized your wife was depressed. The only mitigating factor in your favor is that you might be so idiotic that it's hard to hold you fully accountable for your insensitivity. She needs therapy, not jambalaya or makeup. Instead of trying to make her feel better about the one issue she confined in you she wants to fix through cosmetic surgery, not only did you suggest she covers it up confirming her insecurity but you also added to it by pointing out other things she could fix. Tell her what you said at the start of this email. You love everything about her AS SHE IS! Bodies change and having children absolutely caused some changes that cannot be undone with diet and exercise. Again she sound depressed. Ask what you can do to support her to feel better. Encourage her to see a provider to talk about her feelings. So there you have it. In case you were wondering, don't suggest a full-body surgical makeover to your partner if they're in the middle of a depression.
Or, you know, ever.
Hahahaha. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, you know I live in Florida, right? Well, here's another story from this state...
Times have changed so much during 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic changing the world and the way it moves. It has sent everyone indoors, with many people working remotely and classes resuming over Zoom calls. People don’t step outside unless they have a mask. But this clearly hasn’t changed the other awful things that were already happening before COVID-19 hit.
A 10-year-old girl had the worst experience with her Zoom class, when an altercation resulted in her mother shot and murdered on the call. Thirty-two-year-old Maribel Rosado-Morales was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, 27-year-old Donald J. Williams in her home in Indiantown, Florida, and it was witnessed by the girl’s teacher at Warfield Elementary. According to Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, it was the poor girl’s first day of school when, “The teacher said that she heard a commotion, heard profanity, realized there was some kind of domestic altercation, [but] still could see the child online,” also inferring that there were other students attending the online class.
“The teacher said she mutes her button so nobody has to hear it and then she sees the 10-year-old put her hands up to her ears,” he continued, referring to the fact that the elementary school student heard gunshots. Soon, her computer screen went dark because it got hit by a projectile, and Snyder added that there were actually six other children in the house between 10-17 years old.
Snyder believes this senseless tragedy of domestic violence escalated from Williams confronting the student’s mother about a video she posted on Facebook. After shooting the girl’s mother in anger, the ex-boyfriend fled on a bicycle to board a bus. The bus driver found it suspicious that he needed to go to Stuart even though the bus didn’t go there, so she called the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Williams was arrested less than an hour after the shooting and got a first-degree murder charge. Unfortunately, the 10-year-old student’s mother was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, but passed away.
Gray Hair
People rust
Sumner Redstone
May 27th, 1923 — August 11th, 2020
Lots of money, two ex-wives, a handful of kids, gave some money to charities, a lot to political campaigns, and tried to have a reporter from MTV killed. It's the resume of every rich guy in L.A.
President Donald Trump on Thursday gave credence to a false and racist conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris’ eligibility to be vice president, fueling an online misinformation campaign that parallels the one he used to power his rise into politics.
Asked about the matter at the White House, Trump told reporters he had “heard” rumors that Harris, a black woman and U.S.-born citizen whose parents were immigrants, does not meet the requirement to serve in the White House. The president said he considered the rumors “very serious.”
The conspiracy theory is false. Harris, who was tapped last week by Joe Biden to serve as his running mate on the Democratic ticket, was born in Oakland, California, and is eligible for both the vice presidency and presidency under the constitutional requirements. The question is not even considered complex, according to constitution lawyers.
“Full stop, end of story, period, exclamation point,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
Trump built his political career on questioning a political opponent’s legitimacy. He was a high-profile force behind the so-called “birther movement”... the lie that questioned whether President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, was eligible to serve. Only after mounting pressure during his 2016 campaign did Trump disavow the claims.
Trump’s comments landed in a blizzard of other untrue, racist or sexist claims unleashed across social media and conservative websites after Biden picked Harris, the first black woman and the first Asian-American woman on a major party ticket. The misinformation campaign is built on falsehoods that have been circulating less noticeably for months, propelled by Trump supporters, and now the president himself.
“I have no idea if that’s right,” said Trump, who said he had read a column on the subject earlier Thursday. “I would have thought, I would have assumed, that the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”
Trump made the comments in answer to a reporter’s question and appeared to be referencing an op-ed written by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who argues that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t grant birthright citizenship. Eastman sowed doubt about Harris’ eligibility based on her parents’ immigration status. Harris’ mother was born in India and her father was born in Jamaica.
But constitutional law experts say Harris’ parents are beside the point. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all people born in the U.S. and Article II Section 1 of the Constitution says that to be eligible for the vice presidency and presidency a candidate must be natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35, and a resident of the United States for a minimum of 14 years.
“No, there’s no question about it,” said Christopher Kelley, a political science professor at Miami University in Ohio. “It’s been recognized since the people drafted it back in the 39th Congress that (the 14th) amendment would cover people not just born to American citizens but born on American soil.”
The president’s reelection campaign’s senior lawyer, Jenna Ellis, shared the controversial Eastman column on Thursday morning, hours before Trump was asked about it at a White House news conference. Trump noted that the column was written by a “very highly qualified and very talented lawyer.”
After Trump’s remarks, Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said the national party has no plans to challenge Harris’ eligibility for the Democratic ticket.
Eastman, the former dean of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, where he is a professor, is also a senior fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute. According to his bio on the institute’s website, he also served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
He also ran in the Republican primary to serve as California’s attorney general in 2010. Eastman was defeated by a candidate who went on to lose to Harris.
Newsweek, which published the controversial Eastman op-ed questioning Harris’ birthright qualification, defended the piece, arguing that Eastman “was focusing on a long-standing, somewhat arcane legal debate” about the 14th Amendment and not trying to “ignite a racist conspiracy theory around Kamala Harris’ candidacy.”
Online rumor and conjecture that Harris is ineligible to serve first surfaced when she announced her campaign for the White House in 2019. A viral post with the misleading information was revived again, days before she was announced as Biden’s running mate, as pro-Trump Facebook users spread the message in groups and on their pages.
Harris has been a top target of misinformation since launching her own bid for the White House last year. Women’s groups, which have banded together to call out sexism, racism and misinformation about Harris and other female candidates, pointed to other examples of conservative figures focusing on her race and gender in recent days.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson mispronounced Harris’ first name multiple times during a segment Tuesday night, and grew agitated when a guest corrected him, telling Carlson it was a matter of respect. Carlson responded, “So what?” and then mispronounced her name again, twice.
“That is certainly a slight,” said Amanda Harrington, vice president of Time’s Up, which works to stop workplace harassment. It’s a type of disrespect often shown to people of color in the workplace, she said, adding that on the national stage “it asserts a false narrative about who belongs in leadership today.”
Minutes after Biden announced his pick, conservative commentator Candace Owens posted a false attack on her Facebook page, claiming Harris had only started identifying as black in the run-up to the presidential election. Until then Harris had solely described herself as Indian-American, Owens wrote, inaccurately.
Within 24 hours, nearly 200,000 users had liked the post... raking in more attention than Biden’s own Facebook post announcing his pick.
Harris has been accused of reaching her position in politics due to sexual relationships, a sexist claim pushed on social media and elsewhere... including an article in The American Spectator, a conservative online magazine, that referred to her as “the mattress.” On Wednesday, Eric Trump, the president’s son, liked a tweet that referred to her as “whorendous.”
“These are not the kinds of things Mike Pence experienced, or Tim Kaine for that matter,” Harrington said, referring to the vice president and the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee.
But Trump has questioned other rivals’ eligibility to serve in the White House. In 2016, the Republican nomination fight raised questions about whether rival Sen. Ted Cruz met “natural-born” citizen requirements. Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother was born in the United States.
Similarly, in 2008, questions arose about whether Sen. John McCain qualified as a “natural-born citizen” because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father was stationed. Questions about McCain’s qualification spurred bipartisan outrage and the Senate passed a nonbinding resolution declaring McCain, who become the GOP presidential nominee, a natural-born citizen. Obama, who beat McCain in the 2008 race for the White House, was even a co-sponsor of the McCain resolution.
The 134th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon will be on the Phile in a few weeks. That's really cool, right? Jim Carrey! Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jefferson, shall we?
Looks like a nice quiet morning to me there. Okay, wanna laugh?
A guy is 86-years-old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say,
"Pick me up."
He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again,
"Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top was a frog.
The man said, "Are you talking to me?"
The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up.
Then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.
I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because you will have me as your bride."
The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.
Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said?
I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride."
He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,
"Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog."
Today's guest is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer whose latest record "Shawn Mendes" is available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. Please welcome to the Phile... Shawn Mendes.
Shawn: I'm doing good, Jason, thank you for asking.
Me: You'e welcome. So, where in Canada are you from?
Shawn: Pickering, Ontario, right outside of Toronto.
Me: So, your lyrics to the song "In My Blood" are pretty deep for someone as young as you, and to be the first single to come off your album, am I right?
Shawn: I guess when I'm listening to a record usually what happens there's just one when I listen to them all, it's that obvious it's the single. For me when I was listening to the record it was really hard to tell. There was a few that I really felt strongly about but "In My Blood" had this other extra layer to it which was the concept, what it was about.
Me: What is it about?
Shawn: Overcoming fears of anxiety. As a songwriter and as a person that was the most I ever put in to a record.
Me: Was that easy for you?
Shawn: No, I was definitely scared because it was nothing like I have done in the past.
Me: So, how are you doing with your anxiety now?
Shawn: Good. The thing with anxiety is that it comes in phases and it's different for everybody and in a moment I was having it I wrote a song about it. I'm great right now but I'm super proud of that record.
Me: Do you think singing about it helps people?
Shawn: It becomes much more normal for whatever normal means.
Me: Is that on your mind that the song is normalizing it a little bit?
Shawn: Yeah, man. The only way progression is going to happen is by talking about it. By allowing everybody to talk about it just becomes normal thing and hopefully in ten years from now nobody is really worried about it. And hopefully in ten years from now we have better ways to deal with it because people talk about it and they don't surprise it.
Me: There's a line in the song that says "I'm looking through my phone again, feeling anxious, afraid to be alone again, I hate this." Is that a specific moment you can bring yourself to?
Shawn: Yeah. On social media people are on our phones all the time. If I put the phone down and leave my home without my phone it's a crazy experience. I find that I sometimes just sit there looking at people wondering what I'd be doing. I'd be on the phone at this moment right now.
Me: I left my phone at home a few times and I hate it... even for a few minutes. Can you imagine not having a phone? My friend Rich doesn't have a phone, just a flip phone for emergencies. I cannot imagine.
Shawn: Ed Sheeran does not have a phone.
Me: That's crazy. Would you be able to live without your phone?
Shawn: I don't think I'll be able to deal with it. It would suck, but Ed really loves.
Me: He's nuts. Haha. Stupid ginger Brit... wait, I just described myself. Haha. So, you got your start on this thing called Vine, right?
Shawn: Yeah, I was this kid in Ontario learning how to play guitar.
Me: What was the moment that you knew things were going to be different for you?
Shawn: When I came down to Toronto and there was this meet up of Viners and I remember going to the square not really knowing what was going to happen. It's different, when I see 300,000 as a number I'm like that's amazing, but when I see 300 people in person chasing me that is a different feeling. There are two different things that for some reason I don't think of them as the same. I think when I came down to Toronto for the day I came up from the subway and station and there was about 300 people who all turned their heads and started chasing me.
Me: They were chasing you?
Shawn: Literally they chased me.
Me: That sounds scary, Shawn, was it?
Shawn: I was terrified... but at the same time it was so exciting being like this is not normal. People were this excited to see me, that was a big moment.
Me: Why do you think they were chasing you? I'd be fucked, I can't run. Haha.
Shawn: It's out of love I think.
Me: Do you ever see your friends from Pickering on Facebook or Instagram and think they are having such a normal life you wished your life was normal again?
Shawn: No. Obviously there's a lot of sacrifices to be made to do what I do but there's millions and millions things more that I get to do that are incredible that I'm sure every 19-year-old or 20-year-old would love to do. It's not hard to forget that for me. I live in a beautiful condo in Toronto at 20 years old. My friends come to see it and it's incredible for them to see it. I'm reminded every day how incredible it is to get to do this for a living. I see what you're asking, sometimes I want to go to university party's and stuff or go to Subway and just order a sandwich. The answer to that is just do it still.
Me: That's pretty cool. Do you put on a hat and sunglasses?
Shawn: I don't even care, I just do it. I just take the photos, answer the questions and don't be a dick in public. I live the life that I am because that's what it is, and be grateful what I have and then ignore what I don't have.
Me: You sang with Taylor Swift in a stadium full of fans, performed for the Queen on her birthday, singing the anthem at Portugal's World Cup. What to you is the coolest thing you have done so far?
Shawn: I think that was one of the coolest things I did ever. I played soccer for 7 years when I was a kid and my hero is Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm a serious Portugal fan. So that was just so insane to me to be able to sing the anthem for the team. I wish everybody could come and see a show in Portugal, it's like no other. The level is so loud of the amount that people are screaming and singing the words that is almost overtakes the P.A. of the sound system that I'm singing through.
Me: How does that feel?
Shawn: It's intense but it's awesome, Portugal goes hard.
Me: Are your old friends jealous of your success and stuff?
Shawn: My friends couldn't care less if anything is going on or that's a thing.
Me: Shawn, people change, man. Even family members can change as well, right?
Shawn: It's funny, the people that think of celebrities are the only people that are changing. Imagine all the people around a celebrity as they become famous start to change the way they treat them.
Me: Do you think you changed?
Shawn: It's a funny thing, I changed regardless if I'm famous or whatever I do for a living, I get a new job, I get a new place, I meet somebody new, I'm changing, but it's just put under the limelight of how it is as a celebrity. Changing is such a very vague term.
Me: Your latest self titled album is being called a more grown-up record for you. Does it feel that way to you?
Shawn: Most definitely, yeah. One thing that's funny as an artist is I make a record I think takes about six months to a year, or maybe longer sometimes. For instance if I made that record in October, fast forward six months or maybe a year and a half the first song I wrote in October I was literally a different person. I wrote that in October and six months to a year before I released my last album before that so everybody thinks of me from how I was writing music two years ago. So everybody's saying it's grown up and mature. But for me it's just me. But it's actually a genuine representation of where I am.
Me: Where are you now then?
Shawn: I think musically I'm just learning so much. I'm just really getting into older rock and even rock that is such a few years before me.
Me: Older rock? Haha. Like who?
Shawn: The Killers, I didn't understand how incredible they were until a couple of years ago.
Me: Did you ever see them in concert?
Shawn: Yeah, I got to see them live at Lollapalooza. Dude, it was insane. It blew my mind. Being able to learn about new music that I had no idea about making my last three albums and now that I discovered this new act that I'm so inspired by is an entirely new reason to make another album.
Me: Do you think your fans are gonna follow you that have followed you since those Vine days?
Shawn: Yeah, a lot of making music is a lot of artists like to say isn't for me first and foremost which I agree with. For me it's a little different. I make music for me first and foremost, but I also really love making music for people. I love writing a song and watching somebody else really enjoy it. So 50 per cent of it is for me, do I love it? And then 50 per cent of it is will they love it? So as long as I'm staying conscience of that.
Me: Are your fans mostly woman your age?
Shawn: Well, a lot of dudes come up to me on the streets and say they love "Lost in Japan." That's a really cool for me, a guy comes up with a beard and he says he likes the music, that's really cool because if I can break with age or anything. If somebody who is 12 and someone who is 55 then that's awesome. How old are you, Jason?
Me: I'm 51, and I like some of your music. So, do you feel any pressure to follow our last album with new music?
Shawn: I think more artists put pressure on themselves more than anybody else.
Me: So, what is it like for you?
Shawn: It's just a non-stop internal battle with myself. With the pressure the one thing I always think about is pressure creates diamonds and without that pressure the care wouldn't be there that I would think is incredible. Then that success wouldn't be there and that pressure wouldn't necessary create success.
Me: So, what do you want people to think of your music in the future?
Shawn: I want to make good music... and do good in the world, too. I aim to create music that's timeless and will be just as relevant 50 years from now. But it's not just about making unforgettable songs, I also want to make a difference in the world. I want to help, and I want to use my voice and use music to take steps forward and help people take steps forward. The key is honesty and authenticity. And that's not just for me... for everybody.
Me: That's cool. Shawn, thanks for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun and I hope you'll come back soon.
Shawn: Thanks, Jason. It was fun.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Shawn Mendes for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with Billy West, legendary voice over actor. Spread the word, not the turd... or virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Mask it or casket. Bye, love you, bye.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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