Top 10 Most Disturbing Music Videos Because of What We Know Now
Welcome to WatchMojo and today, we’re looking at music videos that are uncomfortable to watch in light of information that was later revealed.
“Age Ain't Nothing but a Number”
Aaliyah
Aaliyah made an incredible impact on the music industry before her tragic death at age 22. Unfortunately, we can’t talk about her early career without talking about R. Kelly. The disgraced R&B star produced and was the primary songwriter for her debut album, “Age Ain't Nothing but a Number”. The title track finds the teenaged Aaliyah pledging her devotion to someone evidently outside of her age range. Though Kelly is absent from the video, his uncomfortable presence is still felt. And knowing that he and teenaged Aaliyah were illegally married the year of the song’s release just makes things worse.
“Deserve”
Kris Wu feat. Travis Scott
The international pop community was stunned when Chinese Canadian rapper and former Exo member Kris Wu was charged with and convicted on multiple counts of sexual assault. Having that knowledge makes this video, which portrays Wu as some kind of master seducer, all but unwatchable. And lyrics avowing his dominance over his partner certainly don’t help matters, either. Wu is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence for his crimes, and while this video doesn’t explicitly out him as a predator, any possible feeling of romance or seduction is gone. Instead, the primary feeling is overwhelming disgust.
“Crazy”
Aerosmith
There’s a lot to unpack here. This video casts Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s daughter Liv alongside Alicia Silverstone as two truant schoolgirls who get into all sorts of mischief. Even setting aside the familial aspect, Liv Tyler was only 16 years old at the time, and the video has her doing some…rather grown-up things. Furthermore, decades earlier, her father became the legal guardian of 16-year-old Julia Holcomb, referring to her in his memoir as his “partner in crimes of passion.” In 2022, Holcomb (now known as “Julia Misley”) named the rocker in a lawsuit, citing grooming and abuse. As such, it’s hard to see this video as particularly empowering.
“Blurred Lines”
Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell
In seemingly the blink of an eye, “Blurred Lines” went from being a number-one hit to being widely reviled. The unsettling implications of the lyrics did arguably the most damage, but the crass video certainly did not help, nor did Robin Thicke’s reported conduct on set. In 2021, model Emily Ratajkowski, who's featured in the video, alleged that Thicke sexually harassed her during filming, a claim backed up by the video's director, Diane Martel. Given that the song has been maligned for being seen as promoting boundary violation, hearing about this only makes it all the more irredeemable.
“Happy Hour”
Jazze Pha feat. CeeLo Green
In the early 2010s, musician CeeLo Green went from being a star to being a pariah with his conviction for spiking a woman's drink with ecstasy. This along with subsequent disturbing tweets related to the case, sullied his image for many. While this song and video, made in collaboration with Memphis artist Jazze Pha is nowhere near as popular as songs like “Crazy” or “Forget You,” it’s pretty discomfiting in retrospect. Why? Well, it’s about encouraging women to loosen up with some drinks, and it features CeeLo Green. Even though he's just the featured artist, it doesn’t undo the disconcerting connotations.
“Give It To Me Baby”
Rick James
"Chappelle's Show" helped to briefly revitalize his career by humorously recounting debaucherous moments in his life. However, there are aspects of Rick James’ life that can’t be mined for laughs. His legacy is tarnished by multiple allegations of sexual assault, including a case where he was sentenced to prison for holding a woman hostage for six days with his girlfriend. Being aware of all that makes this song and video, which finds James demanding intimacy from his partner, incredibly off-putting. It might've seemed playful at the time. But seeing James incessantly touch and hound a woman resisting his advances now, it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Catholic School Girls Rule”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
As with Aerosmith, this is a case of an artist literally telling on himself. While on tour in Louisiana, then-23-year-old Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis had an inappropriate relationship with a teenaged Catholic school girl. Then, he wrote this song about the experience. Kiedis freely admitted to this in his memoir, and he’s largely managed to escape anything in the way of consequence for it. The song’s video matches its lyrics, with its portrayal of rebellious Catholic school girls. But the carefree mode is irrevocably sullied by being aware of just how heinous its inspiration was.
“Murder on My Mind”
YNW Melly
In 2019, rising Florida rapper YNW Melly made headlines, not for his music but for his double-homicide charge in a still-pending case that sees him accused of killing two of his friends. To make a bleak situation worse, Melly’s breakout single was entitled “Murder on My Mind”. And the video sees Melly clutching various firearms while talking about the lethal thoughts preoccupying him. While plenty of artists have cast themselves as killers in their songs for the sake of artistic license, you can’t watch this video without thinking of the charges that Melly would soon face.
“Satisfy You”
Puff Daddy feat. R. Kelly
The reputations of both Sean Combs and R. Kelly were destroyed in recent years, with the revelation that they had both allegedly used their power and influence to cause unspeakable harm to multiple people. Kelly is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence for his crimes, while Combs is currently awaiting trial on a multitude of federal charges. Does that get anyone in the mood to watch a video for a song that casts these two as experts in the art of romance? A video of this type featuring just one of them would be bad enough. With both, it just reaches a new level of unintended ickiness.
“A Town Called Hypocrisy”
Lostprophets
Welsh rock band Lostprophets had their image permanently tarnished upon the news of frontman Ian Watkins’ unspeakable acts involving minors. Upon learning of this stomach-churning news, you might’ve recalled this video, which casts Watkins as the host of a children’s TV program. We hope we don’t need to explain why that’s so utterly repulsive, especially given the innuendo and suggestiveness hiding in plain sight in this video. And seeing Watkins cheekily act like someone who cares about the well-being of the youth is horrifying in retrospect. “A Town Called Hypocrisy”? Try “A Video Called Unwatchable.”
What wholesome music video are you going to watch now? Let us know in the comments
