TV NETWORK REFUSES TO PULL RIHANNA’S GRAPHIC NEW VIDEO
Officials at U.S. cable network BET are refusing to ban RIHANNA’s hard-hitting new promo for MAN DOWN, despite growing criticism about the graphic nature of the video.
The Umbrella hitmaker ‘murders’ a sex attacker in the harrowing video, which premiered on BET on Tuesday (31May11). In the promo the singer shoots a man at a railway station and a series of flashback images then show her grappling with him outside a nightclub as he tries to attack her.
Rihanna, who was famously assaulted in 2009 by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown, came under fire from members of the Parents Television Council for setting a bad example with the promo, and they hit out at TV executives for allowing the video to be shown.
A PTC representative added, "If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass." But BET chiefs are refusing to bow to pressure to pull the video from screens.
A spokesperson tells TMZ.com the network "has a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines that are applied to all of our content. The Rihanna Man Down video complied with these guidelines and was approved for air."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
