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Domestic Violence

Rihanna and Eminem join for domestic violence video

But are they exposing the ugly reality of domestic violence – or merely glorifying it?

SINGER Rihanna and rapper Eminem have teamed up to produce a song about domestic violence.

22-year-old Rihanna was the victim of a (very public) violent incident last year when her boyfriend, Chris Brown, seriously assaulted her. Following the assault, police photographs of her bruised face were leaked to the press.

Eminem has also been linked to the issue, sometimes unfavorably, as he has addressed his reportedly volatile relationship with his ex-wife in his songs. Critics have said that some of his lyrics appear to applaud domestic violence.

Speaking to Access Hollywood, Rihanna talked about the video:

“It just was authentic. It was real. It was believable for us to do a record like that, but it was also something that needed to be done. He pretty much just broke down the cycle of domestic violence and it touches a lot of people.”

We’ve watched the video and – as certain as we are about the intention to expose the ugly truths about domestic violence – we can’t help but feel this offering falls woefully short of the mark.

In fact, the word ‘glorification’ spring to mind.

The video features actress Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan, of Lord of the Rings fame, engaging in a montage of vodka-drinking-and-screaming-at-each-other scenes, interspersed with animalistic-kissing-against-walls shots. There’s also lots of fire in it (which is a metaphor, by the way).

We feel that domestic violence is a topic that needs more exposure. Is this the right way? Watch the video and tell us what you think in the comments below: