President Obama Confirms Beyonce Runs the World in Howard Commencement Speech

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published 9 May 16

Faced with the pressure of uplifting and distracting the class of 2016 from their crippling student debt, at least momentarily, President Obama turned to the one topic that transcends all, even Sallie Mae.

"When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T," Obama said to the graduates. "Rap and hip hop were counterculture, underground. Now, Shonda Rhimes owns Thursday night, and Beyoncé runs the world."

Elsewhere in the 45-minute speech, Obama urged the crowd to take political action, "empathize with all people are struggling," and "compromise, even when you are 100 percent right." He also said "I love you back" to the crowd, which is nice because, same. Watch the full address here.

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Chelsea Peng

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.