Outrage over 'vile' Rihanna video for Pour It Up that even her own fans hate
By Laura Cox
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Rihanna faced an extra- ordinary backlash last night after even her fans branded her latest video ‘obscene’, ‘vile’ and ‘pornographic’.
Hundreds took to social networking sites to tell the singer that she should be ashamed of herself over the X-rated images in Pour It Up.
They questioned whether she was fit to be a role model to her millions of young and impressionable fans.
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Raising the pole: Rihanna has released her video for Pour It Up which is not for the faint hearted
Nothing to the imagination: Rihanna sits upon a gold throne in the video pulling various racy positions
Campaigners also called for YouTube to ban the video, which has already been viewed more than nine million times since its release on Wednesday.
Last night, Dr Helen Wright, a former president of the Girls’ School Association, urged parents to stop their children watching the video.
‘No matter how much people may talk about its artistic merit, it nonetheless objectifies and therefore demeans women by casting them in the mould of whore,’ she said.
‘Teenagers are impressionable; this video feeds them the same old ugly story of female enslavement, not emancipation or equality.
‘Parents should object and do their best to prevent their children from seeing it; even better would be for Rihanna herself to recognise the responsibility she has as a public figure to promote positive and healthy images of women, and to stop selling out, under cover of ‘art’, to commercial interests which demean women.’
Dollar bills: Just as if she was in a strip club Rihanna is seem pawing lots of money
Skills: Rihanna seems keen to show off just how flexible she can be while sitting in one chair
The video was originally posted by Rihanna on Vevo, a video sharing site, but was banned due to its explicit content. The site has since reinstated it.
It features pole dancers, strippers and lewd dance moves including ‘twerking’, a particularly provocative hip-thrusting dance.
Rihanna spends most of the video dressed in nothing but a jewel-encrusted bikini and platformed stiletto heels. She sings about strip clubs, alcohol and money and is seen gyrating and sliding provocatively down a chair.
Miranda Suit, of Safermedia, a charity that campaigns against violence, sex and bad language in the media, said: ‘[Rihanna’s] crude, tasteless and explicit dancing, combined with the money-focused lyrics, are telling all her fans – many of them still children – that it is good for women and girls to sell their body, and right for men and boys to see women purely as a sexual commodity.
‘Rihanna has sold out completely to the commercialisation and objectification of women’s bodies and their sexuality. And now she’s promoting it to girls and boys.’
She urged websites such as YouTube to stop such videos being seen, adding: ‘Parents want to know that their children are going to be safe online.
Gloomy: The video is shot in a dingy room with a shallow amount of water on the ground
Eerie: The light used in the video creates a foreboding air to the feel of the song
Trying out her new skills: Rihanna is seen pole dancing in the video not long after revealing she had had her first lesson
Got any ones? Rihanna gets some tips on how to pole dance during filming over music video Pour It Up
Straddling: Rihanna no doubt loved the opportunity to get sexy on a pole
Doing good: Rihanna slid and sashayed ont he pole wearing snapback, stilettos, and plunging leotard
Checking herself out: Rihanna gets down and dirty during the filming of her latest music video
‘It is particularly hard for parents to counteract as Rihanna is so much part of mainstream youth culture and fashion.’
It is not the first time that Rihanna, who has a line of clothing at teenage high street retailer River Island, has caused outrage with her music and behaviour.
The lyrics to S&M, which appear to glamorise sadomasochism, provoked horror when the song was released in 2011, with the video being banned in 11 countries. A performance she gave during the final of the X Factor in 2010 led to ITV being flooded with complaints from shocked viewers. For the most part fans have tended to remain loyal. However Pour it Up would appear to have pushed some too far.
Other tweets from fans included one writing: ‘Rihanna’s video Pour It Up is absolutely obscene! Out of the limit!’
Another posted: ‘Just watched Rihanna’s new video ... feel grubby ... Eurgh! Vile.’
Another ‘disgusted’ viewer directed her comments directly at the singer: ‘You are a role model and you have no idea the effect you and others have on our children and teenagers.’
Last month, Professor Dionne Taylor, a researcher at Birmingham City University, said her study found that stars such as Rihanna damaged the self-esteem of young girls and lead them to believe that sexualisation was ‘part and parcel of life’.
Nice wig: Rihanna sports a blonde curly mop while she sits provocatively in a bath
Green screen: The video was shot on a special set with the water image superimposed in the finished cut
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yawn! seen it all before Rihanna..... its about time you did something interesting instead of showing kids how to be a porn star!
She is revolting and embarrassing. I'm not even a prude...but she makes a mockery of everything a modern western woman is supposed to stand for.
Rihanna has NEVER considered herself, or tried to be, a role model for young kids. If young girls are watching her videos and listening to her music, that is the parents' responsibilty and not Rihanna's. Stop trying to childproof the world and take the time to worldproof your child.
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CT, London, United Kingdom, 16 hours ago
This video is so desperately awful that it appears to have been intentionally created to cause outrage, and produced in record time. It's doing its job along with the whole Miley/Sinead debacle - distracting us from what is going on in America.