Names and faces
■ Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Leonardo DiCaprio and more than two dozen other singers and celebrities have joined rapper-comedian Lil Dicky on a new song and bawdy video aimed at bringing awareness to climate change and Earth Day, which is Monday. Dicky, whose real name is Dave Burd, released the animated clip for the song “Earth” on Friday, where Bieber is a baboon and Grande is a zebra. The video, featuring 32 artists, also stars Ed Sheeran (koala), Miley Cyrus (elephant), Shawn Mendes (rhino), Katy Perry (pony) and Kevin Hart as Kanye West. He said as the video and song were put together, about half the time he was in the studio with stars when they taped their cameos but the other half of the participants emailed in their parts. Dicky, best known for his 2018 hit “Freak Friday” with Chris Brown, says he “didn’t really realize how insane our climate crisis is and how screwed humanity is about to be.” He adds, “If we don’t get our act together now, and change a lot about our fundamental behavior, Earth will become unlivable alarmingly soon.” DiCaprio’s foundation will distribute all profits to select charities fighting climate change.
■ Japanese Emperor Akihito prayed at a Japanese shrine in a ritual to report his upcoming abdication to the Shinto gods. The 85-year-old emperor will retire April 30 in the first abdication in 200 years and a rarity in Japan’s ancient imperial history. Crown Prince Naruhito will succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. On Thursday, Akihito performed the “Shinetsu no Gi” ritual at Ise Shrine in western Japan as part of the succession process. Wearing a tuxedo, he headed into the shrine, with palace officials holding up two imperial treasures — sword and jewel. The third, a mirror, is kept at the shrine. The treasures were taken from the palace in Tokyo and traveled with the emperor. The regalia, or three treasures, will be handed to Naruhito after his succession. Japanese emperors were once believed to be direct descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who is enshrined at Ise and who sits at the top of “yaoyorozu,” or 8 million gods of all things in Shinto. Rituals at Ise Shrine are intended for the imperial family, and the emperor was the head priest until 1945 while Shinto was the state religion and the emperor was said to be a living god.