Most Controversial & Banned Music Videos of All Time

M.I.A., “Born Free”

No stranger to inciting controversy, M.I.A. incited global furor with her Romain Gavras-directed 2010 clip.

The extremely intense video depicts military brutality and a genocide against red-haired people, and is presented as a nine-minute short film. The clip was inspired by the killing of Tamil males by the Sri Lankan Army filmed on mobile phones in Sri Lanka, some of which had been broadcast by news outlets. It faced a rare YouTube fan in the U.S. and the U.K., with critics split between praise and criticism.

“It’s amazing to me that is the state we’re in today – people are more moved by something synthetic than something real. And as an artist that’s the decision you have to make – whether to be real or synthetic,” she said to Mondomix.