1. “Jeremy,” Pearl Jam. This one’s first on the list because it’s what I was listening to when I got the Q10 idea. In case you’re not familiar, the video depicts a boy who is mercilessly teased by his classmates and ignored by his parents. At the end of the video he strolls into class with a gun and we see him raise his arm. The next shot is of the students in class sitting completely still and spattered in blood. The director of the video, Mark Pellington, says that one of his biggest frustrations is that viewers think that Jeremy shot his classmates – I have to admit, I was part of that crowd until I researched this article. MTV wouldn’t permit Pellington and Pearl Jam to show a child putting a gun in his mouth, but that’s what happened. I have to say, the video stands up – I just watched it here for the first time in years, and it still gives me chills. The controversy, of course, came after Columbine. MTV and VH1 both banned the video, and even now it’s very rarely seen.
2. “Like a Prayer,” Madonna. This 1989 video was all kinds of offensive, apparently. It was criticized for several things: the burning crosses imagery, the scene where Madonna has stigmata, and the part where she, you know, gets it on with a saint. People not familiar with Martin de Porres, the saint in question, thought the video depicted Jesus, so that caused a big kerfuffle as well. It cost Madonna an endorsement deal with Pepsi, sort of. She got to keep her $5 million fee, and she got tons of free publicity when the press picked up on the fact that Pepsi had pulled the commercial she had recently filmed for them. You can read more about the Pepsi deal (and more controversial music moments) here.
3. “Stan,” Eminem. The song is about one of Eminem’s fans who is psychologically disturbed and kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend when Eminem doesn’t respond to his fan letters. The full video is more than eight minutes long and more or less uses the lyrics as a storyboard for the video. But to be shown on MTV, certain parts had to be cut out – namely, anything having to do with Stan (Devon Sawa) shoving his girlfriend in the trunk of his car and driving off of a bridge. The song samples the Dido tune Thank You, so it makes sense that she portrays Stan’s girlfriend in the video. Reportedly she didn’t want to do the video because the trunk scene scared her, but she ended up getting along really well with Eminem and agreed to do it.
4. “Smack My B**** Up,” The Prodigy. The title alone is pretty controversial and led to a lot of criticism of feminist groups, but the video is also pretty crazy. We see the world from the point of view of a person who is doing hard drugs, drinking and driving and having sex with a prostitute (among other things). The video was banned almost everywhere, but fans bugged MTV so much that they eventually gave it and showed it (but only after midnight).
5. “Girls on Film,” Duran Duran. Why was this video banned? Three words: Topless Mud Wrestling. MTV was only two weeks old when this video was filmed and as a result it was the first censored video on the station. At the time, Duran Duran loved the controversy the censorship caused, but now they have said that they’re a little sad that the song is remembered for the controversy instead of the message: the exploitation of fashion models.
6. “Coma White,” Marilyn Manson. Part of the reason this was banned from MTV was just bad timing. The video shows a re-enactment of John F. Kennedy’s assassination (Manson’s then-fiancee portrayed Jackie), but it was scheduled to hit the airwaves right around the time JFK, Jr., died and the Columbine Massacre occurred.
7. “Erotica,” Madonna. Yeah, Madonna gets two spots on the list. The video for Erotica was shown on MTV only three times, and even then it was edited. The unedited version, which was shown in Europe, features full-frontal nudity. Even without the nudity, MTV deemed Madonna’s dominatrix garb and sexual moves to be too steamy for their network.
8. “Closer,” Nine Inch Nails. Directed by Mark Romanek, the video shows various strange happenings in the laboratory of a 19th-century mad scientist. There’s a pig’s head, a naked woman, a monkey tied to a cross Jesus-style, a diagram of a vulva and Trent Reznor wearing an S&M mask and shackles. Despite (or perhaps because of) its controversial content, Romanek’s video is considered a work of art: the Museum of Modern Art has added it to their permanent collection. Another one of Romanek’s videos has been given the same honor: Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories” video. Among other things, he has also directed Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream” Fiona Apple’s “Criminal”, Johnny Cash’s cover of NIN’s “Hurt” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.”
9. “The Thunder Rolls,” Garth Brooks. Yep, even country music artists can cause a stir. Brooks’ “The Thunder Rolls” is about a cheating and abusive husband (although the video makes the abuse more evident than the song does) who gets his comeuppance when his wife kills him. The latter part was told in the third verse of the song, but it has been dropped except for live performances. The video, however, still shows this ending to the tale. That coupled with the theme of abuse got this video banned from CMT and TNN, but it won the CMA Music Video of the Year.
10. “Baby Got Back,” Sir Mix-a-Lot. It seems silly now – it’s such a funny video and so widely used everywhere, even in Target commercials (“I like backpacks and I cannot lie…”). But when it first came out, “Baby Got Back” was considered quite racy and could only air late at night.
I know this doesn’t even begin to cover all of the controversial videos out there – Madonna could easily fill this list all by herself. So share your favorite (or least favorite) racy or controversial video in the comments. And have a good weekend!!
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How about another banned NIN video? “Happiness in Slavery,” starring super-masochist (and fellow cystic fibrosis patient) Bob Flanagan.
side note: I saw the documentary about his life (Sick), so I naturally wanted to watch this video as well… pretty much horrified my poor roommate when she came back into the room and this was playing!
posted by Juliepie on 3-14-2009 at 12:18 pm
Martina McBride’s Independence Day has such a nice uplifting chorus – but it’s the story of a little girl whose abused mother saw her only way out as a murder/suicide/arson while her daughter was watching the 4th of July parade.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-14-2009 at 12:32 pm
I remember being a wee youngin’ (11th grade) when I first saw Marilyn Manson’s video for s(AINT). It gave me nightmares. All the self mutilation, bondage and blood. Talk about sensory overload.
posted by BrianBoredAtWork on 3-14-2009 at 12:51 pm
Didn’t they only play Eminem’s “Cleaning out my Closet” video at night as well? I remember having to stay up with my friends until 1a.m. just to see it for the first time.
Plus, the Nine Inch Nails Starf*ckers, Inc video makes me gag.
posted by mirror-chan on 3-14-2009 at 1:14 pm
The “Closer” video gave me nightmares for weeks!
posted by EBodell on 3-14-2009 at 1:40 pm
I always enjoy your posts, Stacy. Between your Disney-related ones and stuff like this, you choose the most interesting topics.
I remember watching “Jeremy” on MTV many years ago, back when they actually aired music videos. It is the first video that comes to my mind as being “controversial.” Looks like the video came out in 93 and Columbine was 99, so it had a few years to air before being banned.
posted by Nicole on 3-14-2009 at 1:41 pm
Same here Nicole, but I also remember it being on the top 20 countdown for a long time, so it must have been in heavy rotation for those 6 years…until Columbine.
posted by Erin on 3-14-2009 at 2:17 pm
Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood was very controversial. IIRC they had to remake the video to a tamer version because no one would air the original version.
posted by michigan mom on 3-14-2009 at 2:27 pm
Another country one… I don’t know who sings it but it’s “Earl’s Gotta Die” or something similar.
It’s about two friends and one marries an abuser so they plot to, and carry out, killing him.
posted by Sarah in CA on 3-14-2009 at 4:17 pm
Pearl Jam’s ‘Evolution’ video was really cool and controversial… Bjork ‘All is Full of Love’ is another beautiful and controversial music video.
posted by Kate on 3-14-2009 at 4:18 pm
That would be “Good-bye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-14-2009 at 5:07 pm
One that’s been forgotten by most lists, and probably because the whole controversy seems pretty unbelievable today – “I Predict” by Sparks. The video features a drag striptease by the band’s Hitleresque keyboard player. No actual nudity or anything close to it is depicted, but MTV’s standards and practices in 1982 forbid crossdressing in any context. Legend has it that after much negotiation, the dispute between the band and MTV boiled down to the length of the keyboard player’s mustache.
posted by Jane S. on 3-14-2009 at 5:50 pm
It’s French, but Serge Gainsbourg’s “Lemon Incest” video was pretty controversial, (at least for Americans) between the title and the fact that the video showed him in bed with his daughter.
posted by Jenny on 3-14-2009 at 10:15 pm
I remember the first time I saw, “Smack my B!tch Up” being absolutely shocked that the video was following a female the entire time…not a male.
That was very cool to my much younger self.
posted by Shannon on 3-14-2009 at 10:50 pm
“janie’s got a gun” by aerosmith was controversial as well.
posted by joe on 3-14-2009 at 11:29 pm
I remember seeing the Closer video online and I didn’t even know that it was banned. Maybe that video was banned due to the lyrics? Basically laying it all on the table about his sexual interests (and I know the song is not about sex ok.) I also liked the Coma White video. I watched Smack My Bitch Up and I was blown away that it was a female. I Enjoyed this post… It brought back good memories. Thank you!
posted by PoGo on 3-15-2009 at 10:45 am
This one’s a little more obscure and not quite as controversial, but really grossed me out–Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ video. He’s standing in the center of a roller rink while girls skate around him. They start by stripping off their clothes, but then go further until they are peeling off their skin. It’s pretty gross.
posted by Fruppi on 3-15-2009 at 1:21 pm
I was expecting to see Madonna’s “Justify My Love” video mentioned; it was sold in record stores after MTV refused to air it. Saturday Night Live did a pretty amusing spoof on a Wayne’s World segment.
posted by Chrissy on 3-15-2009 at 2:09 pm
In Madonna’s earlier videos, she was a real slut.
posted by Sara in AL on 3-15-2009 at 2:28 pm
I actually am going to the school (Richardson High School, outside of Dallas) where Jeremy Delle, the kid that the song was based on, attended and killed himself at.
Also, Bill Engvall and Anne Rice. Who knew?
posted by Alec on 3-15-2009 at 10:20 pm
“The Ledge” by the Replacements was banned on MTV. A song about suicide with a goofy video of the band standing around.
posted by Pun on 3-15-2009 at 11:13 pm
What about Robbie Williams and his video for Rock DJ? He peels his clothes, skin, muscles until he is down to his skeleton. Pretty gory.
posted by Sylvia on 3-15-2009 at 11:31 pm
Marilyn Manson’s “Heart-Shaped Glasses” is another one. There’s a couple of versions, one featuring Manson and his then-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood having some really passionate sex.
posted by Brooke on 3-16-2009 at 12:04 am
I always realised it was blood splatter on the other kids, and I always loved that song (and Last Kiss)
One by Metallica, love the song but to this day I have a brother who swears I dreamed the video and it was never made.
posted by Lorelei on 3-16-2009 at 8:57 am
What no Danzig videos? I had the VHS video compilation from his first album. He was ripping chickens in half and drawing inverted crosses in the blood. Needless to say, that never aired on MTV.
posted by mudface on 3-16-2009 at 9:56 am
Interesting MTV banned “Jeremy”…they had it ranked as the #1 video all-time for awhile. I definitely thought he killed other students in the video.
posted by Jason on 3-16-2009 at 10:11 am
I’m with Fruppi and Sylvia. Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ was one of the most horrifying things I’d ever seen on MTV — likely because it was just so unexpected (and unnecessary).
Lorelei (and all) – mtvmusic.com should have most of these to check out…
posted by josh on 3-16-2009 at 10:24 am
Kanye West’s song Jesus Walks had to be re-made twice. They banned the version with slaves and kkk/cross burning.
Pretty sweet video though.
posted by Krystale on 3-16-2009 at 10:27 am
mtv refused to show the video for megalomaniac by incubus because of the “controversy” which is pretty silly.
posted by stephanie on 3-16-2009 at 1:17 pm
It seems really stupid to me that Jeremy was banned following Columbine but it was fine beforehand despite being based on an actual event and the first school schooting.
posted by Bri on 3-18-2009 at 11:19 am