Singer Sam Smith recently caused a stir when he released a video for his new song I’m Not Here To Make Friends. Critics called for the video to be age-restricted on YouTube, and others blamed the video’s content.
Smith challenges the gender binary and the norm with the video, which shows her dressing daringly alongside other dancers, swinging from crystal chandeliers and dancing scantily clad. Smith’s fans, however, were unfazed.
The music video is by no means the first in history to spark controversy due to bold content. Over the past years and decades, many videos have caused public outrage due to their bold content, although there is still a difference of opinion whether the videos are rude or not.
The 10 videos that have caused the most outrage so far according to a reviewer Daily mail are:
Queen – I Want to Break Free (1984)
Immediately after its release, the song was a hit and reached number three on the UK charts. This was not the case in the United States, and the video, crafted by drummer Roger Taylor, is thought to be to blame. It features members of Queen, Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Fred Mandel dressed in drag as they grace the hit TV show Coronation Street. The drag scene was accepted in the UK, but not in the US.
“MTV was very low-key. And they decided the men in drag weren’t rock enough, I guess. So they didn’t air the video,” Taylor says. “I remember being on tour in the American Midwest and people were shocked, ‘We can’t play this.’ You know, it sounds gay.”
Madonna – Like a Prayer (1989)
The video caused a lot of outrage when it was released. In the video, Madonna takes refuge in a church after witnessing the innocent arrest of a black man for the murder of a white woman. The flaming crosses of Ku Klux Klan members and Madonna’s wet dream with a black saint were to crown the outrage of many viewers.
The Vatican released a statement the day after the video was released, condemning it, and many religious groups stopped drinking Pepsi because the soft drink maker used the song in its advertising.
Nirvana – Heart Shaped Box (1993)
The song was the last the band recorded before singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide and also the most controversial. Cobain said the video was inspired by television reports of children with cancer, but an anti-abortion message is also featured in the video. It also contains controversial scenes such as a man on a cross wearing a Santa hat and a woman dressed in Klu Klux Klan attire picking a fetus from a tree.
Although the video was condemned by many, it was the most played music video on MTV in 1993 and won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1994, for Best Video and Best Art Direction.
The Prodigy – Smack My B***h Up (1997)
The Prodigy were already controversial for their songs and videos, and Smack My B***h Up fared a little better under criticism with graphic depictions of sex, drug use, and violence.
The video, shot in first person, depicts a night of drug and alcohol abuse during which the main character assaults several men and sexually assaults several women. The protagonist ends the night at a strip club before having sex with one of the dancers. When they fall asleep in front of a mirror, it turns out that the protagonist is a woman.
MTV did not air the video until late at night, but pressure from groups like the American Association of Women led the station to pull the video entirely.
The Prodigy played down criticism that the video encouraged violence, saying it was symbolic. The video was nominated for four awards at the 1998 MTV Awards, winning two, for Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video.
The Prodigy – Hit My Bitch Since ArtOfficial CPH Agency on Vimeo .
Eminem Stan (2000)
Stan is one of Eminem’s most famous songs and tells the story of Stan, a fan who admires Eminem’s alter ego, Slim Shady. As the song progresses, Stan becomes increasingly disillusioned with Slim Shady’s inability to respond to his letters, and his mental health deteriorates with tragic consequences. He kidnaps his pregnant girlfriend, killing her and himself in the process.
The video was censored and made a clean version so it could be shown on TV. In the video, Stan holds his girlfriend hostage in the trunk of his car, but the stripped-down version removes the scenes where she is punched and tied up. Scenes of Stan drinking vodka while driving were also cut, along with the screams of singer Dido, as his girlfriend, when the car plunges off the road into a river.
The song was nominated for five awards at the 2001 MTV Awards: Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, Best Video Direction, and Best Cinematography.
Dirty – Christina Aguilera (2002)
Christina Aguilera shocked the world with Dirrty’s provocative music video. In the video, she can be seen scantily clad in a boxing ring against scantily clad men. Among other things, the video was banned from television in Thailand, not because of its sexual connotations, but because of posters in the background of the video advertising sex tourism in the country.
Although the video caused outrage at the time, Aguilera recently said she had no problem showing the video to her children as she wanted to teach them that sex is a perfectly normal part of being. human.
“Dirrty was very controversial then, but it wouldn’t be now. I hope I paved the way for women and established the rule that they can be whatever version of themselves they want to be. and be proud of it.”
Robin Thicke with T.I. and Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines (2013)
Singer Robin Thicke has caused outrage among women around the world for the lyrics and video for the song Blurred Lines and the rape reference in the lyrics. The video shows women walking around in flip flops as the singers watch them and sing “I know you want it.”
The original video was banned on YouTube due to nudity while its clean version was allowed. Model Emily Ratajkowski appeared in the video and said it launched her career in Hollywood. She later said the video was the worst she had ever participated in. She said Thicke sexually assaulted her on set and fondled her bare breasts from behind, but she thought he was extremely drunk. Robin denied his accusations, calling them ridiculous.
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball (2013)
Cyrus finally lost the stamp of Disney’s child star by appearing naked in the controversial Wrecking Ball video. In the video, she sits and swings on a metal ball, licks a mace, and smashes through walls.
The record video followed Cyrus’ infamous performance at the World Music Awards, where she walked around wearing nothing but a bra and panties, while twerking and giving the audience a big ass.
Cyrus later admitted that she regretted the video: “I will always be the naked wrecking ball girl.” I licked the hammer. I should have thought how long this will follow me.”
Kanye West – Famous (2016)
Kanye West shocked his fans with a bizarre Famous video that showed a naked celeb orgy in the same bed. West, along with his then-wife Kim Kardashian, were spotted naked and asleep, along with ten other stars.
Their bedfellows such as Taylor Swift, Ray J., Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, Rihanna and Chris Brown all huddled next to the couple. The genitals of the men were covered under the sheet, but the same was not true for the women.
The video received negative reception on YouTube, garnering almost as many thumbs down as thumbs up. The individuals mocked in the video were also unimpressed, to say the least, since they do not appear in the video, but their look-alikes or wax replicas.
Lil Nas X – Montero / Call Me By Your Name (2021)
Many people are impressed that Lil Nas X, who is gay, celebrates homosexuality in his videos. Others viewed the Montero video as immoral and harmful to children. In the video, the rapper can be seen swinging on a pillar of hell, where he gives the clown a lap dance himself.
“It’s outrageous, disgusting and evil and Palm Sunday itself. The rapper feels Satanic worship should be mainstream and normal. I don’t think there’s ever been a better reason than this to bang LilNasX,” South Dakota Governor Kristi Noemi said.
Nas responded to the critics on Twitter: “There is a mass shooting every week that our government is doing nothing to stop. It’s not me sliding on a computer-generated pole that’s going to destroy society.”
