In honor of late musician Harry Hains, director Michael J. Saul has created an animated music video for his song One Love. Hains' mother, Jane Badler, is featured on the song and wishes to spread her son's vision of love and acceptance.
Though he was known best for his role in American Horror Story, the genderfluid actor was also an experimental musician who sought to break binaries with his Ziggy Stardust-esque alter ego, Antiboy.
"He created this character of Antiboy which is sort of a play on it--not quite a boy, not a girl, Antiboy," Badler tells Tracy E. Gilchrist of Advocate Today. "And he used that name, and in his mind it was this futuristic character in 2025 ... which is kind of part machine and part human, which kept returning to Earth to redo this heartache. He was in a relationship that never quite worked, so he kept returning to the place where it didn't work to kind of undo the heartache."
Even as a child, Badler shares that Hains didn't identify with gendered labels. His love of fantasy eventually became an outlet for him to express his feelings through imaginary worlds and characters.
"He didn't understand boy, girl. As he said, he was born a boy but he never identified as a boy. He didn't identify as a girl. He just identified with love and the essence of people," she says. "He was always creating characters; he was very into fantasy... And I think he found it hard to actually be in this world, so he was always creating different worlds. And he just felt it was so unjust the way he felt that other people treated a lot of people that were different, or didn't fit in."
Before his tragic death in 2020, which Badler has said was caused by "mental illness and addiction," Hains created ten song demos. When Badler found them, she decided to finish them. With the help of Saul, they turned One Love into a 3D world filled with light, color, and love.
"[We] felt it was a very important message. It was Harry's message," Badler says.
Saul had met Hains years prior on the set of his queer film, The Surface, though he shares that he continued to listen to Hains' music as it was released. He felt particularly moved by One Love and was inspired to make the music video.
"Harry was a beautiful spirit," Saul says. "I couldn't stop listening to the song, it was so strong for me. And considering, at the time, I thought with the last few years what we've all been through, it's a song we all needed to hear. ... I really wanted to create what I thought Harry would like to be involved with."
Badler co-wrote the bridge with Sizzy Rocket, as well as also provided vocals for that section. She describes feeling like she wrote the song with Hains, seeking to share his beliefs with the world.
"I decided to sing," Badler explains. "And it would not just be to Harry — then he struggled so terribly with being accepted — but also to the world. To all young people — all people — who find it hard to live in this world."
Following his death, Badler has been open about her son's struggles with addiction and mental illness. She hopes to use his music to reach out to those who are also struggling, or even those who may feel alone.
"Well I, first of all, the thing that really upsets me is the shame that's around a lot of things like grief and addiction and mental health and that's it's not talked about enough," she says. "I think by just being open and using art, using film, using music to show this, and to shed light on it, it's a beautiful way for people to not feel overwhelmed by the messaging. And to show people a little kind of slice of that life, and to enlighten people about it. "
Badler adds: "But also to help young people who feel different. It's very important to me, but it's also important because I feel close to Harry. I feel his presence when I do this work."
Watch the music video for One Love above, and catch The Advocate Channel 's full interview with Badler and Saul below.
- Pierre Rocca ™® (@Pierre_Rocca) / Twitter ›
- Harry Hains' Mother Jane Badler Honors Late Son, Talks ... ›
- ANTIBOY (@antib0y) / Twitter ›
- ANTIBOY | Spotify ›
- ANTIBOY (@theantiboy) • Instagram photos and videos ›
- Jane Badler (@janebadler) / Twitter ›
- Jane Badler (@janebadlerworld) • Instagram photos and videos ›
- Jane Badler - IMDb ›
- Jane Badler - Wikipedia ›
- Harry Hains Dead: 'American Horror Story', 'The OA', 'Sneaky Pete ... ›
- Harry Hains, 'American Horror Story' actor, dead at 27 | CNN ›
- 27-year-old actor Harry Hains' cause of death revealed ›
- Harry Hains - IMDb ›
- Harry Hains (@harryhains) • Instagram photos and videos ›