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!