Top 10 Music Videos That Pissed People Off
These music videos pushed people's buttons! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for music videos that made people angry, whether it was a specific person, an organization, or the general public.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for music videos that made
00:11people angry, whether it was a specific person, an organization, or the general public.
00:2510.
00:27Black or White – Michael Jackson Black or White was a terrifically popular
00:38song and its music video drew a large audience.
00:41However, many of those audience members probably didn't see the last few minutes of the video,
00:47which were cut just days after it came out.
00:51That final bit included scenes where Jackson danced in a particularly suggestive manner,
00:56smashed windows, and appeared to blow up a hotel.
01:08Since the music video was aired right after The Simpsons, and includes two characters
01:13from that show, people worried that children might watch it and mimic some of the activities.
01:19Jackson issued an apology, allowed the final scenes to be removed, and later released an
01:24edited version where he only smashed windows with racist slogans on them.
01:329.
01:37Stress – Justice Stress is an electro house piece that received
01:42mostly positive reviews when it came out.
01:45A follow-up music video, on the other hand, made people very upset.
01:49In fact, it was banned entirely on French TV.
02:00The video shows teens of color from poor neighborhoods rampaging through Paris, committing various
02:05crimes and acts of violence.
02:07Some people saw the video as a critique of French society, but many thought it was more
02:12like a racist nightmare come to life, especially since there are no lyrics to provide context.
02:26Justice and the video's director claimed they did not intend to promote violence or
02:30intolerance, but that still leaves some questions as to why they made these choices in the first
02:36place.
02:418.
02:45Hate Me Now – Nas featuring Puff Daddy Usually, when someone gets angry about a music
02:51video, it's not someone who's actually in the video.
02:56But that's what happened with Hate Me Now.
03:01Nas' version was to challenge racial stereotypes by having a crucifixion scene where he portrayed
03:10Jesus and Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy, also appeared on a cross.
03:23After the video was shot, however, Combs asked for his scenes to be taken out, as he felt
03:28that they went against his Catholic faith.
03:31Nas agreed, but somehow MTV ended up showing the music video uncut.
03:36When Combs saw it, he was so enraged that he stormed into the office of Nas' manager
03:41and hit him over the head with a champagne bottle.
03:43Combs later apologized and paid his settlement.
03:517.
03:55Literally I Can't – STFU Playing skills featuring Redfoo, Lil Jon,
04:01and Inertia McFly.
04:09This music video features a group of sorority girls attending a frat party and being pressured
04:14by the men to drink and dance.
04:16When they decline, saying, literally I can't, they are told to, well, you can probably guess.
04:24As time goes on, most of the women give in and join the party.
04:34Viewers objected heatedly to the video's apparent message that women should just shut
04:38up and do as they're told.
04:41Redfoo, a rapper from the US whose label produced the video, probably took the most heat, and
04:51complained on Twitter about being victimized.
04:54Several victims of assault and coercion didn't find this a compelling argument.
04:59The following year, Redfoo was removed as a judge from The X Factor, Australia.
05:056.
05:06Like A Prayer – Madonna This famously controversial music video draws
05:11on themes of religion, race, and sexuality.
05:14Madonna portrays a young woman who witnesses a murder and sees an innocent black man arrested
05:19for the crime.
05:27She seeks strength at her church to stand in his defense.
05:30This may not sound so terrible, but bear in mind that Madonna is scantily clothed, dancing,
05:36and making out with the condemned gentleman throughout.
05:39And it was the 80s.
05:48Catholic and other Christian groups denounced the video as blasphemous.
05:51The Vatican encouraged people to boycott Madonna's concerts.
05:55Pepsi broke off a commercial deal with her.
05:57It was one of the biggest music video scandals the world had ever seen.
06:01At least until Justify My Love came out a year later.
06:115.
06:14Window Seat – Erykah Badu The music video for Window Seat was shot in
06:26one take with a minimal crew.
06:28It shows Erykah Badu walking through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, gradually taking off
06:34more and more clothes until she falls down naked in the same place where President John
06:40F. Kennedy was shot and killed.
06:42Dallas officials were less concerned with the artistic value of the footage than the
06:46fact that Badu filmed it without a license and ended up naked at the end.
06:51She was charged with disorderly conduct for public nudity.
06:54None of this controversy bothered Badu, who said she intended the video as a protest against
07:00repression and groupthink, but she did emphasize that she meant no disrespect toward President
07:06Kennedy.
07:074.
07:14Jesus Christ Pose – Soundgarden Anytime a music video includes religious
07:27symbols and imagery, someone usually gets upset, especially if the song accompanying
07:32it is a biting heavy metal rebuke.
07:36Soundgarden's frontman, Chris Cornell, explained that the song was meant to criticize religious
07:40pretense, and famous people who used religion, particularly references to Jesus, as a way
07:46to make themselves seem better than others or to suggest they were being persecuted.
07:55Unfortunately, a lot of viewers saw the song as anti-Christian instead and objected to
08:04images such as upside-down crosses and women being crucified.
08:08MTV refused to show the video except in edited form.
08:12The reaction was so extreme that the band even received death threats during their UK
08:17tour shortly after the video came out.
08:243.
08:28If I Could Turn Back Time – Cher Rarely do you see a music video accused of
08:34desecrating a historic site, but here we are.
08:37If I Could Turn Back Time features Cher putting on a show for US Navy sailors.
08:50The Navy granted permission for her to film on the battleship USS Missouri, where Japan
08:54officially surrendered at the end of World War II.
08:57What they didn't know was that Cher was going to turn up in a fishnet outfit that
09:02barely covered, well, anything.
09:12The liaison officer attempted to stop the shoot and have Cher change costumes, but the
09:17director refused.
09:18The resulting video caused something of a military scandal, with soldiers and veterans
09:23feeling that an important historical landmark had been handled a bit too freely.
09:362.
09:37Just Lose It – Eminem Eminem parodies several celebrities in
09:48this video, including Madonna, MC Hammer, and Pee Wee Herman.
09:52However, the references to Michael Jackson were what really raised people's eyebrows.
09:57Eminem made light of Jackson's plastic surgery procedures, abuse scandal, and even an incident
10:03from the 80s where Jackson was badly burned while filming a Pepsi commercial.
10:14At the time the music video came out, Jackson was awaiting trial for allegations that he
10:18had mistreated minors, although he was later acquitted of all charges.
10:23He called the video outrageous and disrespectful.
10:26He wasn't the only one.
10:28Stevie Wonder, Benzino, and Steve Harvey also objected to Eminem's depiction, and BET
10:34relegated the video to their Uncut segment at 3am.
11:011.
11:02Try That In A Small Town – Jason Aldean Try That In A Small Town isn't the first
11:08country song to argue that a rural home is better than city life.
11:15However, as the title suggests, it's a little more aggressive than that, and the music video
11:24takes things to a whole new level.
11:26The negative city footage mainly features protests against racial violence, not crimes.
11:38As for the peaceful country, Aldean is shown holding a rifle and daring anyone to take
11:44it, even though he himself narrowly escaped a mass shooting in 2017.
11:48Worst of all, most of Aldean's scenes are in front of the Maury County Courthouse in
11:53where race riots and a tragic lynching occurred.
11:56Critics, musicians, and regular viewers denounce this video as a thinly-veiled glorification
12:02of vigilantism and intolerance.
12:12Do you know any other music video that sparked accidental outrage, or maybe deliberate outrage?
12:18Tell us about them in the comments!