tick, tick… BOOM!
“I always knew I was gay”
In the music video for Chance, movie star Alexandra Shipp and Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko live out the ultimate queer cottagecore fantasy. Sun-drenched and gorgeous, they flirt their way through a countryside paradise wearing pastels and dungarees. Theirs is a love that blossoms as they make strawberry jam on the porch, exchange meaningful glances while grooming a horse, share an upside down “Spiderman kiss” sprawled out on a picnic rug and, quite literally, roll around in the hay. This three-minute slice of pop perfection provides a moment of pure escapism. It also offers something we rarely get to see onscreen: a sapphic romance between two queer women of colour.
When I speak to Alexandra on our transatlantic phone call, I suggest that she and Hayley should extend the Chance video into a full-blown feature-length romcom. She is immediately onboard enthusing, “Yes! It’s so necessary. I would love that. Come on, Lesbian Jesus!” I quickly discover that Alexandra is a
