Bajan beauty Rihanna has commanded yet more controversial headlines over the sexual content featured in her new music video, aptly titled ‘S & M’. The U.K’s Daily Mirror reported that 11 countries so far have banned the video from air play. Debuting earlier this week, S & M already received over 3 million Youtube hits before the site slapped an age restriction on it. Youtube now cites a warning message explaining that the video’s content was deemed inappropriate for some viewers and therefore users must confirm that they are over the age of 18 before watching it.
Lyrics such as “Sex in the air, I love the smell of it, sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me” may prove too explicit for day time radio. A rep for BBC Radio 1 explained that the station were waiting to receive an edited version before they decide if it is suitable to play before 7pm.
Displaying whips, lube and bondage gear, the video contains a distinct (banana flavoured) recipe for ‘censorship’; a theme that Rihanna highlights throughout her video. During an interview with Billboard.com’s The Juice, the director Melina Matsoukas revealed that the video is inspired by Rihanna’s “sadomasochist relationship with the press … it isn’t just about a bunch of whips and chains.”
Rihanna also defended the video on her official twitter site, stating: “They watched Umbrella … I was full nude…U can now view the S&M video on www.Rihannanow.com UNFLAGGED!!!”.
As the saying goes- there is no such thing as bad publicity! Rihanna’s sales figures certainly won’t be restrained as S & M now dominates the number 1 spot on I-tunes videos…
