Montana Tucker is here to use her platform for the greater good, and she’s just released her most vulnerable piece of art to date. On January 18th, the same date as her 30th birthday, she unveiled her new series titled How To: Never Forget, with a mission to educate the masses on the Holocaust and how detrimental it was to humanity.
With both her grandparents being Holocaust survivors, Tucker takes viewers with her as she travels to Poland for the first time to learn about her family’s history and the horrific reality of how the Jews were treated. The name How To: Never Forget derives from her grandparents’ mission to always “NEVER FORGET and “NEVER AGAIN.”
Tucker’s mission? To end hate for ALL people.
For those who may not be familiar, Tucker is an Award-winning singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, social media personality, and philanthropist who’s here to empower from every angle. Having entered the entertainment industry at age eight, her breakout moment arrived as she took home the trophy at the World Hip Hop Championships, competing against dancers from all over the globe. To date, she’s backup danced for Ashanti, Remy Ma, and Ashlee Simpson.
Tucker is currently signed to Pitbull’s Mr. 305 record label as a recording artist. She’s had the pleasure of opening up for legendary acts such as Lil Wayne and Ciara, and her collaborative single “Turn it Up” featuring Flo Rida remains a fan favorite.
Boasting 2.8 million followers on Instagram and 8.8 million followers on TikTok, Tucker is usually known for her fun, happy dance videos, dancing in the middle of the road on Hollywood Blvd., or something crazy. However, her own experiences online as a Jewish person has been met with much hate and backlash, ironically arriving amidst the recent rise of anti-Semitism.
We were all shocked when Kanye West publicly professed his love for Adolf Hitler. NBA player Kyrie Irving was even suspended for supporting a documentary containing anti-Semitism remarks (he has since apologized).
Just one day prior, Youtube hosted an exclusive screening of How To: Never Forget at the Youtube offices in Los Angeles, paired with a Q&A with Montana Tucker.
“I didn’t know what the impact was by posting it,” Tucker shares. “I had no idea what it was going to do. I’ve had people unfollow me for posting that I’m Jewish before. I posted lighthearted pictures of my grandparents and I’ve had literally thousands of unfollows and people saying, ‘Of course, you’re making this about you, you Jew.’ Or ‘the Holocaust never existed.’ So I didn’t know what to expect.”
One thing to note is this film has been in production for over a year and was certainly not planned with the recent turn of events.
“The anti-semitism has always been here, but this is before the recent public rise in anti-semitism we decided to do this,” Montana explains. “It was basically a year of planning to go on this trip. We went back to Poland in June, and we had no script. I don’t know if any of you in the audience have seen Holocaust documentaries, you’ve heard the stories, you hear them from survivors, but nothing can prepare you for that moment of physically going there and being there.”
How To: Never Forget is broken into ten parts, with each clip only a few minutes long. With Tucker’s primary audience being Gen Z, she intentionally created bite-size pieces of content for her viewers to connect and resonate with, given the emotional heaviness of the subject matter.
The video begins with a photo of Tucker alongside her grandparents and a staggering statistic: “During the Holocaust, the Nazis and their collaborators executed the largest genocide in history, killing more than 6 million Jews during World War 2.”
“Both my grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and anyone that knows me knows I’ve always been extremely attached to my grandparents,” Tucker states. “Obsessed with them. I wear my grandpa’s jewelry; this is his ring. This is his bracelet, his jewelry I never take off. My grandpa Zadie is always with me. He passed away three years ago at 97, and my grandma is still alive at 94 with Alzheimer’s for a little over 14 years.”
Tucker also admitted this was “the hardest trip of her life, but the most important thing she’s ever done.” How To: Never Forget is solely for Youtube, releasing one episode a day leading up to Holocaust Remembrance Day at the end of this month.
Montana closes, “This is an extremely, extremely important series and I really thank you all for being here. This series is not only what happened to the Jewish people, this is something that is really resonating with all ethnicities, all religions, all people of different sexual preferences. Something I always stand for is no hate for any human being. You judge a person if they’re a good person or a bad person, not because of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their race, their sexual preference.”
And while the series focuses on Tucker’s family history, her intent is for everyone to come together and unite for peace. Tucker has been actively speaking her truth at various public schools and will continue to stand for what’s right.
How To: Never Forget costars her mother, Michelle Tucker, who was also in the front row for the screening. She also greatly thanks Tiffany Matloob, Global Head of Creator Community for YouTube Shorts, for making this collaboration happen.
Check out episode 1 below.
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