Around two dozen protesters, mostly concerned parents a religious leaders, gathered outside the Universal/Motown offices Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles to complain about the violence depicted in Ashanti’s video for “The Way That I Love You” and its related, equally bloody, marketing efforts.
In the video, a woman brutally kills her boyfriend, who she apparently caught cheating on her.
Says on protester: “The real shock is that Ashanti is squeaky-clean … and the song has nothing to do with murdering someone, so the video is definitely constructed for shock value, and we feel there’s enough violence in our inner cities without you picking your weapon of choice.”
What do you guys think?
It’s interesting to me when people say “brutally murdered”. Personally, if I ever get murdered, I want it to be done with tenderness so when people pick up the paper the next day, they can read about me having been gently assassinated.
Has anyone seen any violent movies lately? I have seen far worse. And isn’t the point supposed to be like a dream? She doesn’t actually kill him. These people need to find time to protest a worthy cause.
a bit harsh maybe but nothing to protest about.. :S don’t people have better more important things to do…?
@ Horse Marine: LMAO
I think its pretty graphic. She coulda gone a different route, but I guess she got what she wanted out of it =/
how come no one complained about missy’ teary eyed, or beyonce’s ring the alarm? in those videos they did bad things, not just dreamed it. but true, violence is bad. The problem is not the normal, stable people who see it as art, it’s the unbalanced, crazy people who see it as good pointers.
agree with wow. What about the eminem video for 97 bonnie and clyde, or whatever it was. Brutal murder of women is seen as acceptable, yet when it applies to the opposite situation, it’s an outrage. The same thing happened with the Dixie Chicks song, Goodbye Earl. It’s a completely misogynist double standard.
I agree that it is graphic, I too believe that they could have gone another route. There is enough violence out here with kids killing kids over teenage love
Funny they didn’t have her kill the ‘other’ woman :>
Can we start the “the real crime” jokes yet?
The real crime is her sequined, in badly need of a hemming dress.
I dont agree with promoting murder.. however the movies that are out these days are much much worse.
In the end it all was a dream, the video I think was trying to show how much pain ppl go through when they get cheated on.
Those ppl need to get a life and maybe protest against something more important like the war!
don’t these protesters realize they are giving her just what she wanted – publicity for her video and her song? when people stop giving publicity to violent fare is when it will stop.
LMAO@ Cat….
Exactly bad dress in some sort of a crack den. The murder thing was a weak move, it’s only because Ashanti hasn’t had a hit in like 3 years she needed some attention on her ass. So she decided to make a video which depicts some physco killing her boyfriend for cheating? Girl, move on.
AAHAHAHHA. My favorite part was the newspaper headline.
but what I really don’t get is that at the end of the video she throws the aforementioned in the song, sidekick, at him and then shoves him out of the way, and slams the door. But waaait… doesn’t she stab him in the bathtub? Does she sneak back in the house later to do the job? I’m appalled at the lack of plot flow in this hip hop video. Appalled.
looking to CNN is worse…
I am actually shocked that no one mentioned anything about it sooner. When I first saw the video, considering there’s always a group protesting something, I was shocked this one seemed to slide by.
Ashanti definitely can’t sing in that key.
I can’t wait to see her try to sing it live.
Well, not really. Because that means I have to listen to that song again.
The video is fabulous, though.
It must be really easy to be a writer for R&B artists. Listen to the lyrics in that song, haha. Fucking lame and unoriginal.
I like the video, possibly love it a little. She still can’t sing. But it is refreshing that she got away from the “oooooh baby”s , “oh baby”s, “mmm baby”s – I think ya’ll get my point.
Nobigdeal got it completely right – it’s all a dream, at the least it is only a video. There are much more worthy things to protest
@Shayna..
I agree. Yeah it is easy to write for “R&B” singers LIKE HER, cuz its not R&B, its pop, and therefore unoriginal. Check out Britney, same stuff…
Nobigdeal, I’d go out on a limb to say that many of the people that are protesting this video are supporters of the war. That’s my feeling on the situation.
But I do agree with you. There are definitely more important things that need attention than an artist interpretation.
i don’t see it, they are protesting what? the way other people interpret the video? okay lets start censoring our thoughts and opinions now,
the sad part is that this video came out like 4 months ago. and they are just now figuring it a threat. i mean, atleast the video is interesting. It brings back the days when music videos were actually a little exciting and added to the song.
I agree with Shayna, that is not Ashanti’s key…but that never stopped her in the 90s.
To Beet….I would like to see the e-card the article was talking about. Maybe then I would be more appauled.
Is this video really such a big deal..?
If you’re going to attack the idea of violence being projected onto our screens let’s start with movies and video games – the stuff our kids see everyday is way more extreme than this. And aside from that, isn’t Ashanti merely expressing the anger and hurt a woman could potentially be feeling in a situation like this? If you’re going to spend you’re time protesting, why not look around for a better cause and actually help someone out. Thanks for this Beet; good one to bring up :)
Love makes people do crazy things. Inner city gang violence has nothing to do with crimes of passion. Black, White –it doesn’t matter. Love makes people do crazy things.
I think she should not wear that red lipstick ever again. ever.
The funny thing is, if you actually watch the whole video, it’s just her fantasizing about killing him, but in the end she leaves him instead.
Also, it may be bloody, but there is only implied violence. You never see her holding a bloody knife, nor anyone being stabbed, and the shot of the “body” doesn’t even look like a body. Also, she totally gets arrested in the fantasy. This video literally would have passed censorship in the 1950s, but I guess because it stars a woman, it’s controversial.
It may be weird, but I support a video with a plot line instead of naked women shaking their asses everywhere.
Well… I think that this video is not really that bad.. I mean, i didn’t like it, nor the song.. But i don’t think it’s so bad..
I totally agree with teaganc..
It showed no murder!
It insinuated contemplation of such murder, but i saw no knife going in.
I guess I’m a little late posting my response here, but I think everyone’s missing THE BIG PICTURE….Don’t fuck with Ashanti! Bitch is C-R-A-Z-Y!!!
when i lived innew york ashanti lived in the same town as me =] i went to high school with her sister..her sister can sing too she was in the play things and she would tear those song uppppp.
aaah….those religious freaks…
gimme a fuckin break.. first of all, she didn’t kill him in the video, she just thought about it…and second, how many violent blockbusters are they throwing at the theaters every week?
besides..the video is not agressive at all…i thought it was very beautiful and, in a good way, dramatic.
Well, I haven’t been following Ashanti’s… uh… career. Since she was on Buffy once and doesn’t have Ja Rule gruntin’ all up on her, she’s kind of faded.
So, my guess is if, as someone said above, this video came out four months ago and it’s just now being protested, who exactly is this group? Extras hired by her record company? Wow, this case may be bigger than the Kennedy assassination, Watergate and September 11th. But I don’t think so since the group is likely fake and used to drum up publicity. My work is done, now to work on getting Apu out of jail.
Groundcontrol and Shayna, your posts were funny.
her voice made MY ears bleed- that was bad
lmao @ court.
but in other videos women did pretty bad things.
beyonces “ring the alarm”
etc……
not only ashanti made “voilent” music videos
I loved her video and he brought that shit on himself. Bwahahaha!
Violence? I never saw any actual harm done to anyone in the video, just a suggestion that a bloody knife COULD have been involved. What exactly are they protesting? I’ve seen far worse in one episode of CSI. Don’t touch my CSI, damnit!!! Or else… violence MAY or MAY NOT occur!
YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK ?!?!?!?!?!?! I THINK I LIKE THAT SONG LOL IT GETS ME ALL JIGGLY WIGGLY ,READY TO KILL SOMEONE TEEHEE :]
funny to say it has “nothing” to do with the song, but that’s what can spark someones thoughts of someone cheating. maybe it is “brutal” to some people, but it’s real life, and has been. people need to face the truth and stop trying to deny the fact that things happen in this world as bad as that is.
you don’t see anything other than a bloody knife (not being used) and his body in the tub. you don’t see anything happen. and like someone said about CSI, that show shows more disgusting and brutal material than this video. even the content of Law & Order can be. as for movies, etc. Why isn’t anyone protesting against them?
when do they actually show videos anyway? at 4 in the morning mostly and on TRL for 40 seconds. BIG DEAL!!!! get a life
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