Top 10 Banned Music Videos
#10: “Girls on Film” (1981)
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Duran Duran This group’s music videos were some of the biggest of the 80s, but things didn’t start off so smoothly. “Girls on Film,” Duran Duran’s first huge hit, was heavily edited down by MTV and banned altogether by the BBC. Given that it was filmed right before MTV launched in 1981, the new wave band filmed it for use in nightclubs and didn’t have TV airplay in mind. Throughout the video, female models are seen mud-wrestling, pillow-fighting in lingerie, and giving massages while dressed in nurse outfits. It certainly delivers on its title, even if the films in question aren’t the most family-friendly. Duran Duran’s future videos would be cleaner, ensuring heavy airplay on MTV and elsewhere.
#9: “The Thunder Rolls” (1991)
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Garth Brooks This video was quite the lightning rod. Garth Brooks has never been known to play it safe like other country artists, instead confronting serious issues. However, his video for “The Thunder Rolls” was a little too real. Due to its portrayal of domestic violence, with Brooks himself playing a sleazy husband, both CMT and The Nashville Network banned it from the airwaves. To this day, there still isn’t a high-quality version on YouTube. However, not everyone was on board with the ban: it received praise from women’s shelters for raising awareness of the problem. Thankfully, the industry eventually came around, awarding “The Thunder Rolls” with Video of the Year at the 1991 CMA Awards. Brooks also swept the whole night, proving his risk paid off.
#8: “A Simple Motion” (2012)
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t.A.T.u. Of all the things they shot, this is one video that should have stayed in the vault. In the Russian version of t.A.T.u.’s “A Simple Motion,” singer Julia Volkova is seen having some alone time. While it was released in 2012, it was filmed back in 2002 when Volkova was reportedly only 17. The graphic content led to the video being banned in t.A.T.u.’s native Russia, much like their Lolita-esque breakout single “All the Things She Said.” To make matters worse, director and group manager Ivan Shapovalov later said he had no regrets about it and didn’t see the problem. Overall, everything about this concept was creepy, and quite frankly, better left in the past.
#7: “Born Free” (2010)
M.I.A. Live fast, get banned, bad girls do it well. M.I.A. experimented with punk on “Born Free,” giving it a nine-minute short film depicting the deaths of people with red hair. A metaphor for real-life genocide, the violent video was initially banned from YouTube in the US and UK. M.I.A. stuck by the concept amid the backlash, saying she found Justin Bieber’s music videos “more of an assault to my eyes and senses” than her own. Sorry, Justin! During her guest appearance at Madonna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, the UK rapper courted further scandal by flipping the bird at the camera. Despite the NFL suing her for millions, M.I.A. was well-equipped to deal with the fallout.
#6: “Dead End Street” (1966)
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The Kinks As one of the 1960s’ most influential bands, the Kinks were finding ways to cause a ruckus on film long before the advent of MTV. Their promotional video for “Dead End Street” was supposedly banned by the BBC for a strange reason: daring to depict poverty. Acting as pallbearers, the Kinks carried a coffin representing the working class. Lead guitarist Dave Davies said the BBC found it in “bad taste”, while lead singer Ray Davies thinks the real problem was its focus on “poor people.” Britpop band Oasis later recreated “Dead End Street” with their video for “The Importance of Being Idle,” but with so many more scandalous videos between the two, it came and went without much heat.
#5: “Bicycle Race” (1978)
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Queen Another one bites the dust. Freddie Mercury was known for his provocative style, but it was actually the lack of fashions that landed Queen’s “Bicycle Race” in hot water. In a video inspired by the Tour de France, 65 models rode their bikes around Wimbledon Stadium in the nude. Receiving a ban in China, “Bicycle Race” is still age-restricted on YouTube to this day. Unfortunately for the legendary band, even their fully-clothed music videos were the source of backlash. Despite its popularity in the UK, their later video for “I Want to Break Free” was kept on low rotation on MTV as a result of the band’s cross-dressing. Queen may have been the champions, but sometimes they just couldn’t win.
#4: “Dirrty” (2002)
Christina Aguilera feat. Redman It was only a matter of time before Xtina went X-rated. On “Dirrty,” Christina Aguilera experimented with hip hop, leather chaps, and racier dance moves. The video, taking place at a nightclub, shows the former teen pop star dancing suggestively in a boxing ring. Then, during rapper Redman’s part, he encounters mud-wrestlers and even a few furries. “Dirrty”’s video was criticized worldwide for its mature themes, but especially in Thailand: there were Thai-language posters in the background with lewd messages that were offensive to the country. Director David LaChapelle said that it was an accident, but the video was pulled anyway to avoid action from the Thai government. Despite the video’s place in pop history, it was clearly too rowdy and unruly for some.
#3: “Like a Prayer” (1989)
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Madonna Life is a mystery, but it’s easy to see why people had a problem with this video. While tame by today’s standards, Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” ticked off the 80s’ puritan sensibilities. Combining religion with sexuality, the video depicts an interracial relationship between Madonna and a Black saint over a backdrop of the KKK’s burning crosses. Even before the actual video was released, a much-hyped Pepsi commercial introducing the song was pulled from the airwaves. MTV surprisingly went through with airing the main video, but most other networks didn’t take their chances. Pope John Paul also urged Italians to boycott “Like a Prayer,” to no avail. Just a year later, Madonna topped herself with the steamy video for “Justify My Love.”
#2: “(s)aint” (2003)
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Marilyn Manson Would this list even be complete without an appearance from the king of disturbing music videos? In the video for “(s)aint,” Marilyn Manson fits as much shock value as possible into its four-minute runtime. Beginning with a blood-covered Manson and carving up a Bible with a razor, the video then goes even further left as he feels up a woman and snorts some questionable substances. Manson’s own label Interscope banned the video from airing in America, and several scenes were blurred out in Japan and Germany. Even today, YouTube requires potential viewers to sign in before braving the grisly spectacle. While none of this is a surprise coming from Manson, “(s)aint” is pretty out there even by his standards.
#1: “S&M” (2011)
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Rihanna When it comes to being bad, this video is perfectly good at it. Rihanna had already been pushing the envelope with songs like “Rude Boy,” but “S&M” remains her most explicit endeavor. From cracking a whip to some creative uses of duct tape, every second seemingly shows off a new demonstration of its title. Not only was “S&M”’s music video banned in eleven countries, but YouTube required users to confirm their age before viewing. Unfazed by the controversy, Rihanna continued the commotion in her short film for “We Found Love,” which was banned in France for its depiction of drug use and domestic violence. Rarely in the post-MTV age has an artist’s music videos caused such a stir.
