Written by Samantha
Donny Osmond is speaking out against Lady Gaga’s explicit music video “Telephone”.
According to Eonline Osmond has this to say:
“Unlike 20 years ago, in today’s modern, viral world in which content becomes instantaneously available irrespective of age, I wonder whether the music industry might need to rethink its marketing policies with regard to making an explicit music video containing profanity, sexual exploitation, nudity, and graphic violence available to anyone with Internet access,” Osmond, 52, continued.
“I wouldn’t want my child to watch this video. Would you? What do you think? Should these two extremely gifted female role models for millions of young girls, maybe, have given a little more thought to the effect it might have on their core audience?”
You can read more at Eonline!
I have seen the unedited video and I have to say- I agree with Osmond. What do you think- did Gaga go too far?
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Comments
8 Responses to Donny Osmond: NOT Goo-Goo for Gaga
On the whole, I agree with him. I have only seen the video once in its entirety. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for a child under 12 or so. If older children are going to watch, hopefully parents would be aware and can have a conversation about the aspects that are disturbing or send unhealthy messages to young minds.
I am not going to lie - my own parenting style has been somewhat liberal in terms of allowing my child to see a variety of films, TV shows, etc. I did try and shield her from graphic violence. However, I completely support parents having stricter policies and I think it does become difficult when so much of this stuff is out there in the media. Perhaps you can control what goes on in your home, but what about friend’s houses?
I agree with Osmond’s overall point. I am very much in favor of artistic expression, but I would like to think that artists and the industry as a whole really think about what they are putting out there. In the case of Gaga and Beyonce, Osmond is right - a large component of their fans are made up of minors.
I feel that it is a parent’s responsibility to watch over what their children can or can not view. Parents must take control and stop blaming the industry for allowing artists the freedom of expression. Your children are not my responsibility.
For me this is just one more thing that makes Gaga a joke. As if the name and outrageous garb wasn’t enough. Its nothing more than an attention stunt, the more outlandish behavior- the more publicity and media attention. I’m not a fan.
I haven’t watched the whole thing. I like some of Lady Gaga’s music; the whole OTT personality doesn’t do much for me, but I understand why some people like it. I tend to agree with Patrick a little more – just because kids are fans of LG, I don’t think that she needs to tailor her artistic choices to be appropriate for all ages. I don’t really see her as seeking the tween-and-under market, and I’m not a big believer in athletes/actors/musicians as “role models.”
That said, the obsession with always topping oneself will lead to burnout pretty quickly, I would think. Though I suppose Madonna has managed to mantain a career for quite a while by reinventing herself. I don’t know; personally I tend to usually favor musicians who are more about the music than the persona and costume changes.
I don’t get Lady Gaga or this video but I am 54 and I am not sure I am suppose to. My sons are in their twenties so I don’t have any concerns with my own children. I do see how this video is pretty comparable to some of the videos Madonna did in the 1980s. Those videos were talked about quite a bit also as being very offensive. I happened to like those videos but I was in my 30s so I guess I was able to relate more.
I agree with Patrick that parent’s need to control what their children view and see. I imagine that is pretty hard in today’s world with IPhones. I also agree with Anya and I believe performers need to really put some thought into what they are marketing.
I’m 41 – I like Lady Gaga. I think she is a talented performer. This video is raunchy, no doubt. I would never want my tween seeing it. But, for me, I like her fine.
I didn’t really care for her until I saw her interview with Barbara Walters. I became a fan after that.
I don’t think anything Lady Gaga is doing is new. It’s all happened before.Everything Osmond says was said years ago with Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and “Like a Prayer” videos. Remember, Pepsi pulled the whole ad campaign. Several of Michael Jackson’s videos were close to being banned (maybe Bad was for a short while) because of violence and grabbing his crotch.
I’m not a huge fan of Eminem but I LOVE most of his videos. And, when Elton John does a duet with someone, you know they are doing something well.
I agree with Patrick partly. Parents should watch over what their children can view. It is unrealistic to think that a 13 year-old will be watched over constantly by parents though.
I disagree with “your children are not my responsibility” if Patrick means that performers do not have to consider their audiences whether the audience is intended or not. So I think GaGa made a poor choice with this offensive video. It’s disgusting to watch young women slapping, wrestling, fighting, and swearing at each other. Disgusting. It’s not artistic. It’s just profane. Period.
Will it affect children? Yes, it will. We’ll see more of this tough girl, foul-mouthed, violent behavior from young girls because of this.
Nancy- I also saw the Barbara Walters interview & really enjoyed listening to Lady Gaga as one of the most interesting people of 2009.
I haven’t seen the video yet, but I agree that parents are responsible for their children & that includes what they are doing/seeing/reading on the internet, in books, on tv, etc.
If we were to look at the bigger picture there is fighting, violence, sexual content, foul language everywhere, not just in some random music video. I hate that this stuff has become so common place, but I truly feel that it has in our society. I do worry about what things will be like when my children are older.
I think Donny Osmond touches on some important notes but what he has to say can go for many things; video games, the news, internet, etc.