Megastar singer Alicia Keys is asking Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to be her Valentine, in an effort to push Congress to pass criminal justice reform this year.
“Can I call you Paul?” Keys asks in a sultry voice for a new video released Thursday. In the video, she fills out a Valentine’s Day card while an image of Ryan lifting weights flashes across the screen.
{mosads}”I never saw the Speaker of the House working out before. He must be cool,” she adds, staring directly at the camera and adding, “Are you cool, Paul? Show me how cool you are.
“Help bring justice reform to a vote so we can keep families together and reunite those that have been unjustly torn apart by excessive incarceration instead of just getting the help they needed,” Keys says.
“Keep me posted,” the “Empire State of Mind” singer tells Ryan, 46.
Paul on Thursday pledged that House Republicans this year would schedule time to vote on legislation reforming the criminal justice system, which has become a major topic.
Advocates and lawmakers pushing for reform view the Speaker as an ally on the issue. It’s also among the handful of topics President Obama highlighted in his first meeting earlier this week with Ryan.
The new campaign for criminal justice reform is a collaboration between Key’s social justice movement We Are Here, the #cut50 initiative and MomsRising.