Rihanna's Murderous Music Video Causes Controversy

If anyone was wondering how Rihanna really feels about the physical assault that she suffered from ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, your answer comes in the form of Rihanna's latest music video, "Man Down."

The video opens with the 23-year-old singer shooting a man in the middle of a train station, then flashes back to the previous day. We then see her meet the man she shot and flirt with him in a club, after which she walks home alone and is violently assaulted by the man.

The Parents Television Council has lashed out at Rihanna after the video aired on BET the other day. The PTC has been running their "Enough is Enough" anti-violence campaign for a while, and consider the "Man Down" video to be inappropriate to air on TV. The Council claims that the video "gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the imprimatur of acceptability."

Interestingly, though, Rihanna's lyrics don't give that indication. "I didn't mean to hurt him, could've been somebody's son," she sings in the chorus. The whole song is about lamenting the fact that she acted irrationally, "I never thought I'd do it, what ever happened to me?" she repeats. Though most of her regrets are about jail time, there isn't an ounce of malice or satisfaction in the killing during the song.

Rihanna took to Twitter when she learned of the PTC's attack: "U can't hide your kids from society, or they'll never learn how to adapt! This is the REAL WORLD!" she tweeted. That point is valid enough, but another one of her tweets seemed to imply (incorrectly, in my opinion) that she doesn't have any responsibility: "I'm a 23 year old rockstar with NO KIDS! What's up with everybody wantin me to be a parent?"

Check out the video below, and let us know what you think: is the video inappropriate?