Ava Phillippe is following in her famous parents’ footsteps with a starring role in a new music video.

The 26-year-old rising star made an appearance in country star Ella Langley’s latest music video for “Choosin’ Texas,” which dropped on Wednesday, April 1.

In the music video, which also stars Miranda Lambert, Luke Grimes and Kaitlin Butts, Ava plays a woman at a bar who catches the eye of Langley’s boyfriend in the video, played by Grimes.

It is then revealed in a series of flashbacks that Grimes and Ava’s characters have a history and were previously linked romantically. After Langley notices Grimes can’t keep his eyes off of Ava, she seeks out Lambert’s help, with the two ultimately taking off together, leaving Grimes’ character outside the bar on his own.

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“This was such a fun shoot & I couldn’t be more grateful to be included in this stellar cast,” Ava wrote on Instagram. “Ella is a true storyteller & getting to witness her creativity up close has me even more excited to see what she does next.”

Ava is no stranger to the glitz and glam that comes with being on a set, as she grew up with actress, Reese Witherspoon, and actor, Ryan Phillippe, as her mom and dad.

Witherspoon spoke about Ava finding her footing in the acting world during an interview with Extra in March 2024, telling the outlet that her daughter was still “getting her feet wet” while trying to “figure out exactly what it is she wants to do.”

“That’s what always annoys me about this whole nepotism talk with the industry,” he explained. “You know, so many people grow up and end up doing what their parents do, you know, to some degree or another…. To me, I always get offended for the children of actors and entertainers when people bring that up because, yeah, of course, that’s what they’ve grown up around.”

Her parents are known for their work together in “Cruel Intentions,” as well as Witherspoon’s roles in “Legally Blonde,” “Big Little Lies” and “Walk the Line,” for which she won an Academy Award.

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Prior to starring in Langley’s music video, Ava appeared in one episode of both “Ransom Canyon” and “Doctor Odyssey.”

Langley initially released “Choosin’ Texas” in October 2025, and it went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in February. After getting dethroned by Bad Bunny’s “DTMF” and later Taylor Swift’s “Opalite,” Langley found her way back on top in early March.

The song continued to drop down in placement and find its way back to the top, climbing back to No. 1 for a fourth time on March 28, making Langley the artist who has been at the top spot the most so far in 2026, with four appearances.

Her fourth appearance at the top of the list officially dethroned Swift, who went No. 1 three times so far this year, for her songs, “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite.”

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Lambert not only appeared in the music video for the song, she also co-wrote the hit with Langley.

When speaking with Country Countdown USA in March, Langley shared that both she and Lambert were “baffled” by the success of the song.

“We were talking on FaceTime the other night. We’ve made history with this song, both just baffled and grateful. We loved the song, but never thought it would do this. There’s no way you can predict it,” she said. “She said to me, ‘You are more important than this job.’ She made me care for myself. Having someone like that made me feel like I’m OK.”

For Mehdi Ghadimi, the ideology behind Iran’s ruling system is not theoretical. It was something he was taught from childhood.

“You were told you are a part a small group chosen by God… to revive God’s religion and fight to defend it,” the Iranian journalist told Fox News Digital, describing the message repeated in schools, mosques and state media.

That early indoctrination, he said, framed the world in stark terms: a divine struggle between good and evil, with Iran’s leadership positioned at the center of a religious mission.

Iran’s ruling system is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical — a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectation and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.

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As a new generation of commanders rises within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following recent military blows under Operation Epic Fury, analysts warn that this ideology may become even more entrenched.

Figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ahmad Vahidi are often cited as part of a cohort shaped by years of conflict in Iraq and across the region — one that sees religion, security and survival as inseparable.

At the center of that worldview is the belief in the Mahdi — a messianic figure in Shiite Islam whose return is expected to usher in a final era of justice after chaos.

Twelver Shiism is the dominant belief for Shias, the Mahdi, identified as the 12th Imam, is alive but hidden and will one day return. Iran’s political system positions the supreme leader as his caretaker. 

Critics say that framework gives political authority a religious dimension that can make it difficult to challenge.

“For the mullahs in Iran, the Mahdi idea is less about personal faith and more about power,” said Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and editor-in-chief at The Foreign Desk. “They use it to suggest that the supreme leader’s views are not just political opinions, but carry a kind of divine weight.”

“The system is set up so that disagreeing with the leader can be portrayed as questioning the Hidden Imam himself,” she said.

“That turns ordinary policy debates into something almost untouchable… you’re no longer arguing with a politician, you’re seen as pushing back against a sacred figure.”

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Ghadimi argues that this structure leaves little room for genuine political diversity.

“Groups labeled as ‘moderate,’ ‘reformist,’ or ‘pro-Western’ are created so that the West can negotiate with them,” he said.

“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally.”

For Iran expert Daftari, the Mahdi doctrine also provides a flexible justification for policy.

“A lot of insiders know perfectly well that this language is being used strategically,” she said. “The Mahdi story gives the leadership a way to claim moral and religious cover for decisions that are often about preserving the regime or expanding its reach.”

“When they talk about ‘preparing the ground’ for the Mahdi, that phrase can be stretched to cover almost anything — crushing protests, backing militias abroad or asking people to accept more economic pain.”

“This religious framing makes compromise much harder,” she added. “If you convince your base that you are carrying out a holy mission… backing down can be painted as a betrayal of God’s plan.”

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Ghadimi said that message is reinforced from childhood, shaping how generations understand their role in society.

In schools, media and mosques, he said, ideology was embedded into everyday life, leaving little space for alternative narratives.

That framing, analysts say, helps explain how the system sustains itself even under pressure.

It also contributes to a worldview in which conflict is not temporary, but part of a larger, ongoing struggle.

“The Islamic government, based on its own interpretation of the Quran, considers itself obligated to enforce Islamic law across the entire world,” Ghadimi told Fox News Digital, adding that the regime “sees itself as the leader of this belief globally.”

“They harbor hatred toward Iranians and Jews, whom they regard as enemies of Islam since its very beginning, and they consider killing them—such as on Oct. 7 and in the recent killings in Iran — to be divinely rewarded acts, much like the beliefs once held by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” he said.

“No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally,” Ghadimi said.

In that framework, critics say, Iran is not simply pursuing national interests but acting within what it sees as a broader religious mandate.

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Some critics argue that within this framework, violence can take on religious meaning.

“They consider killing them… to be divinely rewarded acts,” Ghadimi said.

Still, analysts say the combination of messianic belief and absolutist ideology creates a system in which confrontation is not only expected, but justified.

An Iranian official rejected those characterizations and warned that economic collapse and destruction caused by war could drive long-term resentment.

“If a country is turned into ruins, poverty spreads. Out of such poverty comes hatred, resentment and a desire for revenge, and this cycle of hostility can continue for years. It is not correct to think that everything will simply end the day after a ceasefire. Even if there were no hostile government left in place, people within society who have lost everything may still be driven to seek retribution.”

For Ghadimi, the issue is not just how Iran behaves, but how it understands itself.

If the system is rooted in a belief that blends religion, power and mission, critics say, then policies like repression at home and confrontation abroad may not be temporary tactics but structural features.

And if moderation within that system is limited, as some argue, then the challenge for policymakers is not simply negotiation, but understanding the ideology that drives it.

Sue Bird, a Basketball Hall of Famer and WNBA legend, dismissed the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) assertion that its policy change was to protect women’s sports.

Bird agreed with American Olympic runner Nikki Hiltz, who identifies as transgender nonbinary and wrote that the IOC was “not solving a problem that exists.” The former Seattle Storm star said the policy was just “fearmongering.”

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“That kinda sums it up for me because what’s being presented as this huge issue that we have to protect women. It’s not,” Bird said speaking to Megan Rapinoe on their “A Touch More” podcast. “What it is is fearmongering, and you brought up the (Trump) administration, for them to get votes. That’s all this is. It’s all that it’s ever been in my opinion.

“I think the other part is a reminder. What we have always talked about and focused on is, if you open this door, if you crack this door open, it gets blown open and you’re not policing women’s bodies across the board. I feel very sad about this. So, to kind of circle back to how we started, just want to send so much love to the trans community.”

Earlier in the episode, Rapinoe ripped the IOC’s policy and denied that it was rooted in science.

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The IOC said “eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”

The organization added that the policy was “evidence-based” and “expert-informed.” The testing can be conducted via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample.

A presentation at a World Athletics panel in Tokyo in September revealed that 50 to 60 athletes with male biological advantages have been finalists in the female category at global and continental championships since 2000.

The panel was led by the head of the World Athletics Health and Science Department, Dr. Stéphane Bermon, who said sex tests were necessary because of an “over-representation” of DSD (differences of sex development) athletes among finalists, per multiple reports.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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