14 DAY TRIAL // Maroon 5 has a new music video out now, for the single “Animals.” In the vid, lead singer Adam Levine plays a butcher who takes a serious fancy to one of his customers, played by his real-life wife Behati Prinsloo, turns stalker, and ultimately gets to consummate their relationship in a literal shower of blood.
If you were expecting backlash for such a gruesome video, for a song that has equally gruesome lyrics to match, you were right, as several rape victim groups are speaking out against what they consider a glorification of rape.
Neither Levine nor a representative for the band has addressed this yet.
Stalking is not romance, rape is not making love
Freedom of expression and art be damned, the “Animals” video is sending the wrong message to whoever is watching it. This is something that many fans said shortly after it debuted online, especially since the idea behind it is wrapped in visuals similar to those in horror movies – but ironically enough, the video and single are sold as “romantic.”
In the clip, there’s even a scene in which Levine’s character hugs and is passionate towards slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling, half carcasses by the looks of it. Juxtaposed images of himself and Behati making love suggest that he equals her to a piece of meat and plans to treat her as such.
The video is disturbing even assuming it’s art and not just gratuitous use of violence and gore to boost interest in a new pop release. It’s available at the Maroon 5 VEVO, but *please be advised that discretion is recommended when viewing it.
Several groups are speaking out against it, demanding it be pulled down. One of them is The Rape, Abuse Incest National Network, whose VP of Communications Katherine Hull Fliflet tells the Daily Mail it should have never even made it out of production.
“Maroon 5’s video for Animals is a dangerous depiction of a stalker’s fantasy – and no one should ever confuse the criminal act of stalking with romance. The trivialization of these serious crimes, like stalking, should have no place in the entertainment industry,” Fliflet explains.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center agrees, telling TMZ Levine deserves extra scolding for putting his wife in it and assuming that, just because they’re married, his disturbing message would be perceived as less… disturbing.
Controversy means popularity, unfortunately
Whether they’re right or not, or whether those fans who took offense with the video have a valid reason or not to feel this way, is irrelevant. Sadly, contemporary pop culture means that controversy is the best way of attaining popularity – and Internet hits.
As of now, the “Animals” video has over 5.8 million views, so if you’re thinking that this backlash might actually lead to something concrete (like it being pulled down), don’t.
We’ve all seen this happen before. Robin Thicke and Pharrell were criticized for objectifying women and for releasing an actual rape song with “Blurred Lines.” Miley Cyrus came under serious fire for her “artsy” video for “Wrecking Ball,” directed by infamous photographer Terry Richardson and which showed her at one point licking a hammer and riding a wrecking ball in nothing but red combat boots.
And examples abound. Do you know what they all have in common? They got millions upon millions of views and made the stars who released them richer and more famous. The same will probably happen with Adam Levine and Maroon 5.