@Rihanna @BET
Rihanna has gone on the defensive in light of criticism of her latest music video, “Man Down” which opens with the disturbing image of a man being shot in the head.  Not one to shy away from controversial subjects, Ri’s son is about a girl whose had enough of her abusing boyfriend/ husband.

As the video aired on BET Tuesday, the Parents Television Council was quick to protest calling the clip “disturbing” a called for the network to stop airing it.   In defense Rihanna took to Thursday’s “106 & Park,”  calling the video is “art with a message.”

“We just wanted to hone in on a very serious matter that people are afraid to address, especially if you’ve been victimized in this scenario,” Rihanna said.

NOW! You know I’m not fan AT ALL of BET so i’m not surprised they’re choosing to continue playing the video stating that the network “has a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines that are applied to all of our content” and that Rihanna’s video “complied with these guidelines and was approved for air.“  In other words we make more money by playing it than not.  Unfortunately BET rarely ever chooses the high road or the yellow brick road but rather the one paved in green. MTV on the other hand hasn’t played the video but according to an MTV representative they are “in the process of reviewing the video.”

Here’s my take. I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to Rihanna. Many artists in the face of tragedy have a tendency to either shy away, chose not speak on it too much (see JHud) or worst yet try to make money off of it. Rihanna on the other hand has used it as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of her fans that might have been or are being mistreated by their man OR GIRL! A lot of people fail to listen to the lyrics of Rihanna’s colabo with Eminem, “Love The Way You Lie.” The catchy hook and beat has everyone following along but not realizing that song is also about domestic abuse but flips the script and instead depicts the woman as an abuser. Very creative but none the less drawing attention to a pandemic problem in society.

Rihanna has chosen to take her very public attack and talk about it in her music, videos and interviews in attempt to help others. Gotta salute that Bajan for that. But has she gone too far this time? SOUND OFF: Considering the outlet, BET/ 106 & Park is her “Man Down” Video too much for the audience or is it art with a message?