Rihanna faced complaints from the Parents Television Council, the Man Down video was slammed for sending out the wrong message. The video is set in Jamaica where Rihanna is seen shooting the guy that sexually abused her. The video visuals were directed by Anthony Mandler, the red head is seen fighting off the rapist and running home to find the fire arm which she later uses.
Rihanna fired back on twitter "I’m a 23 year old rockstar with NO KIDS! What’s up with everybody wantin me to be a parent? I’m just a girl, I can only be your/our voice!" She added "Cuz we all know how difficult/embarrassing it is to communicate touchy subject matters to anyone especially our parents!" She went on to tweet "And this is why! Cuz we turn the other cheek! U can’t hide your kids from society, or they’ll never learn how to adapt! This is the REAL WORLD!" Lastly she tweeted "The music industry isn’t exactly Parents R Us! We have the freedom to make art, LET US! Its your job to make sure they don’t turn out like US."
The red headed R&B star took a break from her tour rehearsals in Baltimore and phoned BET’s 106 & Park to address the controversy that is surrounding the video. She explained why she used this concept and the murder scene. "I don’t like to just make videos. I love to make an experience and this is art with a message," she told Terrence and Rocsi. "Obviously [the character is] not a cold-blooded killer. It has to be something so offensive and we decided to hone in on a very serious matter that people are afraid to address."
Her intentions were to send a strong message for women who have been victimised. It’s no secret that Rihanna was abused in the past. The message behind the Man Down video, from her latest album LOUD, was for victims of abuse and other women to be aware. "Rape is happening all over the world and right in our own home and we continue to cover it up and pretend it doesn’t happen," she explained. "I personally don’t condone violence or murder. I’ve been abused in the past and you don’t see me running around killing people in my spare time. I just want girls to be careful."
Personally I think it’s a great video, compared to the boring visuals we see over and over again. This video does send out a message to girls and women. Rape and abuse is a sensitive subject that is dealt with lightly. I think it needs to be taken more seriously and people need to not beat around the bush. If more awareness was raised then maybe more respect would be given to victims by authority and society. I understand how parents do not want their kids to see this kind of thing on TV but it can be a good thing and encourage victims to stand up and speak. We all knew that this video would be surrounded in controversy.
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