Top 10 Music Videos That Pissed People Off

Michael Jackson

“Black or White” was a terrifically popular song, and its music video drew a large audience. However, many of those audience members probably didn’t see the last few minutes of the video, which were cut just days after it came out. That final bit included scenes where Jackson danced in a particularly suggestive manner, smashed windows, and appeared to blow up a hotel. Since the music video was aired right after “The Simpsons,” and includes two characters from that show, people worried that children might watch it and mimic some of the activities. Jackson issued an apology, allowed the final scenes to be removed, and later released an edited version where he only smashed windows with racist slogans on them.

Justice

“Stress” is an electro house piece that received mostly positive reviews when it came out. The follow-up music video, on the other hand, made people very upset; in fact, it was banned entirely on French TV. The video shows teens of color from poor neighborhoods rampaging through Paris, committing various crimes and acts of violence. Some people saw the video as a critique of French society, but many thought it was more like a racist nightmare come to life, especially since there are no lyrics to provide context. Justice and the video’s director claimed they did not intend to promote violence or intolerance… but that still leaves some questions as to why they made these choices in the first place.

Nas feat. Puff Daddy

Usually, when someone gets angry about a music video, it’s not someone who’s actually in the video. But that’s what happened with “Hate Me Now.” Nas’s vision was to challenge racial stereotypes by having a crucifixion scene where he portrayed Jesus, and Sean Combs, AKA Puff Daddy, also appeared on a cross. After the video was shot, however, Combs asked for his scenes to be taken out, as he felt they went against his Catholic faith. Nas agreed, but somehow, MTV ended up showing the music video uncut. When Combs saw it, he was so enraged that he stormed into the office of Nas’s manager and hit him over the head with a champagne bottle. Combs later apologized and paid a settlement.

Play-N-Skillz feat. Redfoo, Lil Jon, & Enertia McFly

This music video features a group of sorority girls attending a frat party and being pressured by the men to drink and dance. When they decline, saying “Literally, I can’t,” they are told to – well, you can probably guess. As time goes on, most of the women give in and join the party. Viewers objected heatedly to the video’s apparent message that women should just shut up and do as they’re told. Redfoo, a rapper from the US whose label produced the video, probably took the most heat, and complained on Twitter about being “victimized.” Actual victims of assault and coercion didn’t find this a compelling argument; the following year, Redfoo was removed as a judge from “The X Factor Australia.”

Madonna

This famously controversial music video draws on themes of religion, race, and sexuality. Madonna portrays a young woman who witnesses a murder and sees an innocent Black man arrested for the crime; she seeks strength at her church to stand in his defense. This may not sound so terrible, but bear in mind that Madonna is scantily clothed, dancing, and making out with the condemned gentleman throughout, and it was the eighties. Catholic and other Christian groups denounced the video as blasphemous. The Vatican encouraged people to boycott Madonna’s concerts; Pepsi broke off a commercial deal with her. It was one of the biggest music video scandals the world had ever seen – at least, until “Justify My Love” came out a year later.

Erykah Badu

The music video for “Window Seat” was shot in one take, with a minimal crew. It shows Erykah Badu walking through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, gradually taking off more and more clothes, until she falls down naked in the same place where President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. Dallas officials were less concerned with the artistic value of the footage than the fact that Badu filmed it without a license and ended up naked at the end; she was charged with disorderly conduct for public nudity. None of this controversy bothered Badu, who said she intended the video as a protest against repression and “groupthink,” but she did emphasize that she meant no disrespect toward President Kennedy.

Soundgarden

Any time a music video includes religious symbols and imagery, someone usually gets upset, especially if the song accompanying it is a biting heavy metal rebuke. Soundgarden’s frontman, Chris Cornell, explained that the song was meant to criticize religious pretense, and famous people who used religion – particularly references to Jesus – as a way to make themselves seem better than others, or to suggest they were being persecuted. Unfortunately, a lot of viewers saw the song as anti-Christian instead, and objected to images such as upside-down crosses and women being crucified. MTV refused to show the video except in edited form. The reaction was so extreme that the band even received death threats during their UK tour shortly after the video came out.

Cher

Rarely do you see a music video accused of desecrating a historic site, but here we are. “If I Could Turn Back Time” features Cher putting on a show for US Navy sailors. The Navy granted permission for her to film on the battleship USS Missouri, where Japan officially surrendered at the end of World War II. What they didn’t know was that Cher was going to turn up in a fishnet outfit that barely covered… anything. The liaison officer attempted to stop the shoot and have Cher change costumes, but the director refused. The resulting video caused something of a military scandal, with soldiers and veterans feeling that an important historical landmark had been handled a bit too freely.

Eminem

Eminem parodies several celebrities in this video, including Madonna, MC Hammer, and Pee-Wee Herman. However, the references to Michael Jackson were what really raised people’s eyebrows. Eminem made light of Jackson’s plastic surgery procedures, child abuse scandal, and even an incident from the eighties where Jackson was badly burned while filming a Pepsi commercial. At the time the music video came out, Jackson was awaiting trial for allegations that he had mistreated minors, although he was later acquitted of all charges. He called the video “outrageous and disrespectful.” He wasn’t the only one: Stevie Wonder, Benzino, and Steve Harvey also objected to Eminem’s depiction, and BET relegated the video to their “Uncut” segment at 3AM.

Jason Aldean

“Try That In a Small Town” isn’t the first country song to argue that a rural home is better than city life. However, as the title suggests, it’s a little more aggressive than that – and the music video takes things to a whole new level. The “negative” city footage mainly features protests against racial violence, not crimes. As for the “peaceful” country, Aldean is shown holding a rifle and daring anyone to take it – even though he himself narrowly escaped a mass shooting in 2017. Worst of all, most of Aldean’s scenes are in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee, where race riots and a tragic lynching occurred. Critics, musicians, and regular viewers denounced this video as a thinly veiled glorification of vigilantism and intolerance.

Do you know any other music videos that sparked accidental outrage? Or maybe deliberate outrage? Tell us about them in the comments!