John Legend's "You and I" Music Video Celebrates Women's Natural Beauty, Scars and All—Yes, You’ll Cry

With the help of Laverne Cox, Tatyana Ali, Chrissy Teigen and more females, the singer embraces women from every age, ethnicity, shape and size

By Bruna Nessif Jul 10, 2014 11:18 PMTags

Bravo, John Legend.

The singer has premiered the music video for his latest single "You and I (Nobody In the World)" off of his Love in the Future album, and believe us when we say, it is 4 minutes of pure female empowerment. With the help of some famous faces—including Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox, Tatyana Ali and, of course, his wife Chrissy Teigen—Legend used his latest release to celebrate all kinds of female beauty.

And in turn, we found ourselves unexpectedly reaching for a Kleenex.

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Teaming up with director Mishka Kornai, the Grammy award-winner captures close-ups of diverse women from every age, ethnicity, shape and size looking into the camera through a one-way mirror, and therefore, looking at the viewer while looking at themselves.

There are definitely more than a few moments that stand out, from a topless pregnant woman cradling her baby bump and a woman revealing her baldness from chemotherapy, to a young girl with Down Syndrome and a boxer with a bloodied nose. But among the most moving of the images is an older woman who sobs as she reveals the results of a mastectomy.

In fact, a companion documentary created in conjunction with the music video explores the different stories behind the various women featured in the music video, called When I Look In The Mirror, and together they will act as a platform to raise awareness and increase engagement in the #OperationGirl Charity Challenge, according to the press release.

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"We live in a world where egregious injustices occur regularly against girls and women. We have a responsibility to take action and disrupt the conditions that allow for such tragedies to occur," Legend said. "Through #OperationGirl we hope to amplify the voices and impact of the many organizations doing great work on behalf of girls and women."

Launched by the singer, RYOT and the Burkle Global Initiative, the campaign will bring together the best organizations in the world focused on empowering, educating and protecting the rights of women and girls, the release states. The Challenge is a concerted response to the violence, oppression and inequality women and girls suffer every day all over the world.

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