14 DAY TRIAL // The other day, Rihanna premiered a brand new video for the latest single off the “Loud” album, “Man Down.” The video begins with footage of the singer shooting a man – and several groups are worried this is sending the wrong message.
After a couple of very fun and colorful videos, Rihanna is back to her more serious self with “Man Down,” a video that tells a story of abuse and retribution.
The clip (which you can also see out below) opens with images of a crowded train station and Rihanna looking on from above: the minute a man steps in the frame, she lifts the hand holding a gun, and shoots to kill.
The scene ends with an image of the man lying on the ground, as blood gushes from his head and Rihanna runs for her life – after that, viewers are shown footage from the day before, explaining the events leading up to the murder.
This way, they learn that the man shot at the beginning of the video had abused Rihanna and she, in pain and shocked, resorted to violence to get her revenge.
Several groups are not ok with the concept of the video – that one should respond to violence with another act of violence – and are saying she should pull the video and reconsider, TMZ reports.
According to the Parents Television Council (PTC), Rihanna is glorifying murder in a way, while implying that gunning down a man is “a proper form of justice.”
“The Parents Television Council is blasting Rihanna for hawking a ‘cold, calculated execution of murder’ in her brand new music video for ‘Man Down’,” TMZ says.
“The PTC is all the more outraged that Rihanna tweeted her fans that the video contained, ‘a very strong underlying message 4 girls like me’,” the same media outlet notes.
“Another watchdog group, ‘Industry Ears’ says, ‘If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass ...’” TMZ adds.
The video did spark quite a debate online, with many saying that, indeed, Rihanna is sending the wrong message with it.
Nevertheless, there are also those who claim she’s using all means available to her to prove a point about the kind of suffering and pain abuse causes: but she’s definitely not telling women in similar situations what to do.
Check out the video below and judge for yourself.