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Humans of New York: The best comments from Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ellen deGeneres et al

The blog has moved thousands of people across the world

Heather Saul
Friday 04 September 2015 05:57 EDT
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The Humans of New York blog has millions of readers
The Humans of New York blog has millions of readers (Facebook/HumansOfNewYork)

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President Obama’s very personal comment underneath a photo shared by the Humans of New York (HONY) blog has caught the attention of thousands. But his reply is just one of the many memorable moments created by a Facebook page that is often more famous for its comments than its posts.

HONY started as a photography project by Brandon Stanton, who wanted to catalogue the residents of New York and document their human, everyday stories. It rapidly morphed into a site with almost 15 million followers and counts a number of political leaders and famous figures among its fans.

Its comment section famously erupted when Stanton shared the story of Beyonce, a teenager who said people would sing “Single Ladies” every time her name was called out.

“Sometimes I hate my name because it always draws attention to me, and I’m not a very social person. My family moved...

Posted by Humans of New York on Saturday, 4 April 2015

Apparently, Beyonce was not alone in her predicament and her post sparked arguably one of the best comment threads ever seen with replies from aptly named users including Jane Bond, Serena Williams, Will Smith and Holly Wood.

Tina Turner
Tina Turner

Chris Brown
Chris Brown

In another post, Clinton’s words of comfort to a homosexual boy who was scared about coming out as gay in the future moved thousands and quickly sent it viral.

"I'm homosexual and I'm afraid about what my future will be and that people won't like me."

Posted by Humans of New York on Friday, July 3, 2015

The Democratic hopeful wrote: “Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you - there will be lots of them.

The post also caught the attention of chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, who had another message for the boy. “Not only will people like you, they’ll love you," she said. "I just heard of you and I love you already”.

Stanton shared another image of a dedicated father ploughing all of his time, money and effort into managing his 14-year-old son’s heavy metal band.

"I'm the manager of my 14 year old son's heavy metal band. I pay for everything and handle promotion. Work is stressful,...

Posted by Humans of New York on Friday, 4 July 2014

His dedication to his son’s ambition was widely commended and the band had over 20,000 likes within the next 12 hours. One user wrote: "Nothing is better than a father who believes in his children's dreams."

Another added: "Does HONY have a Father of the Year Award? So many candidates on the daily."

Discover more stories on the HONY Facebook page.

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