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Barnaby Lane
- These are 10 of the most controversial music videos of all time.
- Among them are videos by Madonna, Rammstein, and M.I.A.
- Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, also makes the list for his "Famous" video.
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"Window Seat" by Erykah Badu (2010)
In the video for "Window Seat," which was shot impromptu in one take, Erykah Badu is seen walking through Dealey Plaza, Dallas (where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated), slowly stripping nude, before being shot by an unseen assailant.
Amid accusations that she had disrespected Kennedy's memory, Badu said that people had misunderstood the meaning of the video.
"John F. Kennedy was a revolutionary; he was not afraid to butt heads with America, and I was not afraid to show America my butt-naked truth," she said.
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"(s)AINT" by Marilyn Manson (2004)
The music video for "(s)AINT" is extremely graphic in nature. It primarily features Marilyn Manson as a depraved hotel guest, snorting lines of cocaine off of a Bible, cutting his chest with a razor blade, taking intravenous drugs, and partaking in bondage activities.
Unsurprisingly,the video was banned by its parent label, Interscope Records, in the United States and blurred in numerous other countries.
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"Smack My Bitch Up" by The Prodigy (1997)
MTV couldn't work out whether it loved or hated the video for The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up."
Featuring depictions of drug use, violence against women, vandalism, nudity, and sex, MTV removed the video from its rotation in December 1997.
A year later at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, however, the station gave the video the awards for best dance video and breakthrough video.
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"Born Free" by M.I.A. (2010)
Inspired by the extrajudicial killing of Tamil males by the Sri Lankan army during the civil war, the video for "Born Free" depicts a genocide against red-haired people.
Among the video's most shocking moments is a scene in which a 12-year-old boy is executed by being shot in the head.
Though some praised the video for its portrayal of military violence and ethnic cleansing, others said it overstepped the mark.
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"Lemon Incest" by Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg (1985)
"Lemon Incest," a song about the relationship between father and daughterSerge and CharlotteGainsbourg, is one of the most controversial of all time.
"The love that we will never make together, isthe most beautiful, the rarest, the most disconcerting,"sings 12-year-old Charlotte about her father.
In the equally controversial video, Sergeand Charlotte cuddle half-naked together in bed.
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"Like a Prayer" by Madonna (1989)
The video to Madonna's hit "Like a Prayer" is tame in comparison to the others on the list, but it caused quite a stir upon its release in 1989.
In keeping with the song's religious connections, it portrays Jesus Christ as a Black man who had been wrongfully arrested for murder. After a religious awakening, which features Madonna dancing in front of burning crosses and cutting stigmata into her hands, the singer saves him from crucifixion.
The video was condemned by the Vatican, with Pope John Paul IIeven encouraging a boycott of Madonna in Italy.
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"Closer" by Nine Inch Nails (1994)
Set in amad scientist's laboratory, the eerie video to Nine Inch Nail's "Closer" touches on themes of sexuality, animal cruelty, and terror.
Among the most unsettling scenes are amonkey tied to a cross; a tongue being ripped out of a pig's decapitated head; and twohuman bodies that appear to have been stapled together rotating in tandem.
Even more disturbing is that the song, and the rest of the album on which it features, "The Downward Spiral," was recorded at the house in which actor Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969.
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"puss*" by Rammstein (2009)
Rammstein's music videos are often controversial. Over the years, the German rockers have made a satirical piece about a convicted cannibal, practiced self-harm, and showcased Nazi propaganda.
The most shocking of their videos, however, is no doubt that of their 2009 song "puss*." Focusing on sexual encounters between the band members and various women, each scene becomes more explicit as the video progresses, ending withun-simulated sexual intercourse andthe band members ejacul*ting.
In 2021, a Russian man was sentenced to 36 months in prison for sharing the video, having been adjudged to have broken Russia's laws on p*rnography distribution.
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"Famous" by Kanye West (2016)
"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous," raps Ye on "Famous," referencing the moment at the 2009 VMAs when he interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech.
Amid the ensuing backlash over whether Swift approved of the infamous lyric or not, Ye then released the music video for the song, in whicha naked wax figure of Swift is shown next to him in bed.
Though Swift never publicly commented on the video, she did like a tweet from a fan that described it as "revenge p*rn."
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"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam (1992)
The video to Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" is based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1991, when 15-year-old Jeremy Wade Delle took his own life in front of his classmates.
The group recreated the moment in the original cut of the video, with the titular character entering the classroom and shooting himself in the mouth, spraying his classmates with blood.
MTV wouldn't allow it, however, so the final cut instead sees "Jeremy"enter andlook at his classmates, all drenched in blood as if he had shot them.
Director Mark Pellington said the group "was very, very upset" that a "piece about an alienated kid" taking his own life "was taken to be this glorified piece about a guy who shoots his classmates."
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