Rihanna and Eminem's New Video: Glorifying Domestic Violence?

The video for Eminem's hit song with Rihanna "Love the Way You Lie" debuted last week, stirring up a debate over the weekend about how the clip handles the track's themes of domestic abuse. Megan Fox and Lost's Dominic Monaghan star in the video as lovers in the throes of a tumultuous relationship; they throw each other against walls and smack each other's faces, even drawing blood during the video shoot. Yet there's also an intense sexuality that peppers the violence.



Rihanna was at the center of a domestic violence controversy last year when it became very public that her then-boyfriend Chris Brown hit her. Given that history and the sexual overtones in the clip, many are left wondering if Rihanna's part in the music video isinappropriate, or even glorifies domestic violence:

The girl, played by Megan Fox, tries to leave but her boyfriend, Dominic Monaghan, promises it won't happen again. But then he admits he's lying: 'I apologize even though I know it's lies.' Rihanna herself has been quoted as saying the song 'was something that needed to be done and the way he [Eminem] did it was so clever. 'He pretty much just broke down the cycle of domestic violence.' But many disagree.

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women thinks Rihanna is unwittingly glorifying domestic violence. 'She's narrating the story, and she's not judging it,' says O'Neill. 'And so she may not intend to be glorifying it, but she is.' Marjorie Gilberg, executive director of anti-violence group Break the Cycle, agreed. 'The danger is that pop culture defines our social norms,' she told the AP. 'We don't want the message of this song to be that this kind of relationship is acceptable. 'So this song has to be viewed in the context of real information from adults, like parents and teachers.'

Read the full story at The Daily Mail. Monaghan also weighs in on how he approached the video's controversial themes at MTV News.