Rihanna’s ‘Man Down’ video attacked

Joining hands with Industry Ears and the Enough Is Enough Campaign, the PTC is calling on Viacom to stop airing the video, which premiered on BET’s “106 & Park” on May 31. In a statement, Paul Porter, the co-founder of Industry Ears and a former voice of BET, said, “Man Down’ is an inexcusable, shock-only, […]

Joining hands with Industry Ears and the Enough Is Enough Campaign, the PTC is calling on Viacom to stop airing the video, which premiered on BET’s “106 & Park” on May 31.

In a statement, Paul Porter, the co-founder of Industry Ears and a former voice of BET, said, “Man Down’ is an inexcusable, shock-only, shoot-and-kill theme song. In my 30 years of viewing BET, I have never witnessed such a cold, calculated execution of murder in primetime.”

“Viacom’s standards and practices department has reached another new low,” he added.

Further fueling the criticism from the media watchdog group, Rihanna told her Twitter fans that the video contained a “very strong underlying message 4 girls like [her].”

“A graphic portrayal of the singer getting back at an attacker by shooting him in cold blood in a crowded train station and then fleeing the scene is potentially the worst possible message that could be sent,” Melissa Henson, director of communications and public education for the PTC, expressed.

With what appears to be lyrics resonating close to home, ‘Man Down’ follows the story of a woman who was assaulted by a man she met at a club, whom she later gunned down in public.

The reggae style song by the 23 year-old R&B singer features the lyrics “Momma, I just shot a man dead… I never been so proud.”

“What started as a simple altercation, turned into a real sticky situation. Me just thinking on the time that I’m facing makes me want to cry,” the lyrics read. “I didn’t mean to lay him down, but it’s too late to turn back now.”

Two years later, Henson stated that instead of using her celebrity to send an important message to female victims of rape and domestic violence, Rihanna releases a music video that gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the imprimatur of acceptability.

“If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass and BET should know better. The video is far from broadcast worthy,” Porter further noted.

Additionally, Pastor Delman Coates, founder of the Enough Is Enough Campaign, pointed out that ‘Man Down’ was also in clear violation of BET’s own programming guidelines shared with the public by Debra Lee, the chairman and CEO of BET Networks who had previously rejected Rihanna’s “S&M” clip for being too raunchy.

Holding the BET accountable for their own selective broadcast decisions, Coates joined the PTC and Industry Ears in calling on Viacom executives to immediately pull the video from programmes that were targeted to youth and teenagers. www.christianpost.com