Top 10 Most Controversial Music Videos of the 21st Century

For this list, we're including music videos that were released during the 21st century and have generated controversy due to explicit content such as sex, violence, racism, sexism or blasphemy.
The Top Ten
1 We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus

In this video, a soon-to-be-legal Miley Cyrus transitioned her image from Disney star to party girl. The twerking in this video was enough to generate controversy.

2 Hello Kitty - Avril Lavigne

If this was made recently, with todays cancel culture she'll be instantly cancelled

3 What It Feels Like for a Girl - Madonna

This Madonna music video was only aired at night due to its excessive violence.

4 Born Free - M.I.A.

This graphic video shows a genocide on redheaded people and has been criticized for its extreme violence.

5 Man Down - Rihanna

At the beginning of the video, Rihanna shoots a man down with a gun at the train station in front of a scared crowd. As the video goes on, we find out that this man raped her and she killed him as an act of retaliation. A lot of people found the video had a bad morale, but some celebrities such as Gabrielle Union (who is a rape survivor) praised it for being relatable.

6 All the Things She Said - T.A.T.U.

Two girls kissing in the music video. This sparked massive outrage in Russia, where the duo is from.

7 P**** - Rammstein

This video has a lot of graphic sex scenes.

Seeing that title has scarred me enough, I don't even want to know about the music video

8 Pon De Floor - Major Lazer

We can see some people actually dry-humping in the music video.

9 MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

This video received huge amount of backlash from conservatives who considered it blasphemous, satanic and harmful to children due to its recreation of biblical scenes, Lil Nas X doing a lap dance on Satan, its openly queen content, and also the Satan Shoes.

It's just gimmick. Imagine being offended by that.

10 Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus

The images of Miley Cyrus swinging naked on a wrecking ball and licking a hammer had everyone talking back in 2013.

Whatever if the video is bad doesn't mean the song is also bad.

The Newcomers

? Part of Me - Katy Perry

For this military-themed music video, Katy Perry was accused of "military propaganda" by feminist author Naomi Wolf, which is totally ridiculous.

The Contenders
11 Boyz - Jesy Nelson

In this video, Jesy Nelson's skin appears to be darker than Nicki Minaj's, which caused Nelson to be accused of blackfishing.

12 WAP - Cardi B

Aside from the song's raunchy nature which drew criticism from conservatives, the Kylie Jenner cameo in the video spread criticism. In fact, she was accused of cultural appropriation as she appeared alongside mostly black celebrities. Some people and associations also took issue with the use of big cats in the video, most notably PETA.

13 Eazy - The Game & Kanye West

This song and video came out when Kanye was having a very public meltdown in the midst of his divorce with Kim Kardashian, who had since been dating Pete Davidson. Not only is Ye rapping about "beating Pete Davidson's a**", but the claymotion video actually shows him burying Pete Davidson's head. This video has received huge backlash, with some viewers calling it disturbing and emotional abuse.

I thought that the video for Famous was weird and creepy. This is a whole new level of messed up though and for no notable reason. A lot of people criticized early Eminem for his attacks on people but at least he had actual reasons for hating them and he was self aware over how the situations he portrayed were not okay.

14 Deja Vu - Beyonce

A scene where Beyoncé looks like she's going to give Jay-Z oral sex caused outrage among many viewers who petitioned for the video to be re-shot.

15 Famous - Kanye West

The naked doubles of celebrities in the video had everybody talking.

16 American Life - Madonna

Madonna throws a handgrenade on a George W. Bush lookalike in this video. The controversy was so bad that the album of the same name flopped.

17 Window Seat - Erykah Badu

This video was disturbing for two big reasons. Erykah Badu not only gets naked in public, but she also gets shot, alluding to John F. Kennedy's death.

18 Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO

This music video is SO CRINGEY and super disgusting! It's just a bunch of unattractive men wearing speedos and wiggling their penises, which isn't "sexy" at all. I'd rather watch paint dry than watch this video.

The song was just okay, but that video was bad to watch for me. Plus, that "Girl, look at my body" chorus, even though that doesn't relate to the music video.

The overtly sexual content caused the video to be flagged multiple times on YouTube.

19 Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke

Two words: topless women. Also, Emily Ratajkowski, one of the models in the video, claimed to have been groped by Thicke while filming the video, tarnishing its legacy.

20 Industry Baby - Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow

This video has been censored due to the scene where Lil Nas X and his backup dancers are dancing naked in a shower.

21 This is America - Childish Gambino

This song quickly became controversial due to its violent imitation of America and excessive use of blood and guns in the music video.

22 Forced Gender Reassignment - Cattle Decapitation

This video shows an extremely graphic sex reassignment surgery.

23 Perra - J Balvin

At some point, J Balvin holds two black women on leashes, which led to accusations of racism and sexism and an intervention from the Colombian chancellor. The controversy was so bad that the video got pulled away from YouTube.

24 Rock DJ - Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams is doing a full-on strip-tease in this video, removing first his clothes, then his skin and muscles to end up as a skeleton

25 Anaconda - Nicki Minaj
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