Victory! MTV, VH1 Ban Kanye Video for Violence Against Women

Just three weeks after Kanye West released the official edit of his new video "Monster," MTV and VH1 have both banned the video from air. The ban comes after a hard-fought campaign by Change.org members Sharon Haywood and Melinda Tankard Reist, supported by over 5,000 other Change.org members.

Haywood and Tankard Reist launched a campaign on Change.org asking for MTV to refuse to air the video unless Kanye removed the hyper-violent and misogynistic themes, after a teaser to the video leaked back in January. "Monster" is not the usual scantily-clad, hyper-sexualized women washing expensive cars with even more expensive champagne. The video features West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Nikki Minaj surrounded by the "sexy" corpses of women in lingerie. Other women dangle from the ceiling by chains. Behind Jay-Z, a dead, naked woman lies with her mouth wide open, bluntly indicating her last act was a sexual one.  And West practically rapes the dead bodies of two women in bed. The message of the video is pretty clear: women are sex objects and it can be erotic when they are killed in violent, sexual ways.

After a little over a month of hard campaigning and the support of thousands of Change.org members, Haywood and Tankard Reist contacted MTV, and the network let them know they wouldn't air the video in its current form, but were open to airing an edited version. Not the sorts of gals to rest on their laurels, the pair kept pushing, asking Kanye West and Universal Music Group to edit out some of the more extreme violence in the video and remove the scenes eroticizing violence against women.

Three weeks ago, the final version of "Monster" was released. And while no real changes were made to the content, Kanye West and Def Jam threw up a sad, patronizing "disclaimer" at the beginning of the video, basically telling women not to get offended. Activists were worried MTV might be assuaged by such "peace-washing" of a video eroticizing violence against women, but fortunately they were not. Both MTV and VH1 have stated they will not air "Monster," even with the disclaimer attached.

Sharon Haywood, creator of the campaign said, "With much gratitude, we thank each and every one of you for signing our petition against the distribution of the “Monster” video. Without your support, we believe that the highly violent and misogynistic images in “Monster” would be airing on MTV and VH1 today. Although we recognize that Kanye West is not the only artist who glamorizes and sexualizes violence in the name of media attention and profits, our collective outrage has sent a no-nonsense message to the music industry as a whole. Your signature has clearly communicated that you are not a passive consumer and that you are prepared to hold them accountable for the entertainment options you are given. Our victory is not only about preventing one video from circulating on mainstream television but more importantly, it is bringing us closer to instigating a higher level of social responsibility within the music industry."

While Kanye West and Universal Music Group have only responded to public outrage with a patronizing disclaimer, it's heartening to know MTV and VH1 are standing strong against the glorification of violence against women in the media.  Congratulations to Sharon Haywood and Melinda Tankard Reist on their victory.

Photo credit: jurveston