Jas Swilks/Collective Shout
“You’re an annoying slut cos you’re talking” – Red Foo
RedFoo has just released his new collaboration with Lil Jon, Play-N-Skillz and Enertia McFly ‘; named ‘’Literally, I Can’t.” In the video, a group of sorority girls are harassed and verbally assaulted, simply because they don’t want to drink or engage in certain activities such as ”girl on girl”. The young women are depicted as killjoys and labelled ”bitches” and ”sluts” for refusing to conform to the wishes of the male party goers.
When the women repeatedly make clear that they don’t want to have sex or drink, they are surrounded by a group of rowdy men who shout in their faces: ‘Shut the fk up”. One woman is pushed unwillingly onto the ground while Red Foo films for the porn site ”Redtube”. Other misogynistic lyrics included in the song include :
“You’re annoying b**** because you’re talking”
“Shhh, don’t talk about it be about it. Work it, twerk it and maybe I’ll tweet about it”
“Girl I’m sipping on this drink, trying to see what you got, not hear what you think.”
Issues within the music video/song include:
That men are encouraged to see women only as a form of sexual entertainment
That when a woman says “no’’, she is to be ridiculed and harassed
That the video encourages a culture in which campus/college assault is acceptable
That women’s right to refuse to participate is ’annoying’
That with the right amount of pressure a woman will always give in
RedFoo is a judge on Australia’s talent show, X Factor, a position which requires him to mentor contestants – often, young women. His offensive and misogynistic portrayal of women in his video clips and performances, disqualifies him from such a role.
This is not the first time Foo has been seen promoting bullying, harming and harassing women. In “New Thang’’, he lines up his female dancers before spanking their backsides and reducing them to objects for his pleasure:
You can be my new thang…
What’s that? It’s a GoPro?
So I can watch that back, HD, slo-mo
Clap clap, make it clap!
In the US, the Department of Justice estimate that 1 in 5 female students will be the victim of a sexual assault. ”Literally I Can’t” makes fun and perpetuates this.
Just recently, headlines were made when Columbian students protested against their universities failure to prosecute rapists. Women such as Emma Sulkowicz, who began the campaign, began carrying their mattresses around campus ; an act of support to all of the women abused while attending university.
How can the National Plan of Action to address violence against women succeed if we allow celebrities like Red Foo to be employed in positions of power?
Red Foo must literally not be rehired.
See also: ‘Rapper Redfoo Defends Super-Sexist Song” TIME
‘Rapper Redfoo under fire for defending ‘Literally, I can’t’, the ‘most sexist song of the year” Daily Life
‘An open letter to Redfoo from The FIX: ‘Literally we can’t…write about you again’ MusicFix
Redfoo in X Factor backlash as petition calls for Channel 7 to let judge go news.com.au
17 Responses
Shame on you Redfoo, or is that Redfool!
He should be shamed for what he deems as an acceptable portrayal of women. It’s a betrayal to women and men everywhere.
Sad Redfoo that you would treat women like this. This is not the behaviour of a true mentor.
young people need role models not pimps!
Disgusting and abusive so damaging to young women, girls and our beautiful young men who are mislead by this damaging garbage
Shame on you Red Foo. This kind of message is unacceptable. Channel 7 should take a stand and show women they don’t accept this as a respectable way to treat women.
This is not talent or a person who deserves a platform. He himself hit’ss said the song is satrical?
He also said on Twitter that ‘some will get it, some won’t’. Great. The ones that won’t will think he is being serious, some of those look up to him and think “well if Redfoo says it…”
On a family show, you are promoting his same views, saying it’s ok. It’s NOT ok. What about the young people who watch the show, or the young talent who don’t yet know right from wrong, and will be ‘nurtured’ by him? NO.
It’s called responsibility…….and clearly there is none. A real shame cause he has talent.
Young boys are already lost as to what ‘men’ truly are, this just gives them a further bad guidance and role model to what is expected of them.
So sick of people like this framing women as nothing more than a body for their own pleasure.
I don’t want any one to hear this song any more. I personally feel sorry for redfoo- he must have suffered some serious rejection in order to write this! And as for the show XFactor- I never watch it, but the show needs a reality check.
Um, sorry to burst your bubble, but Redfoo was not going to return to The X Factor next year anyway but I’m sure you will claim it.
We are asking 7 to cut all ties with Redfoo. This could include more than being a judge on the show (promotions, advertising, marketing, having him on other shows etc). Regardless of whether he was going to return or not, the campaign helps highlight misogyny in his lyrics/video, extending to the broader music industry – and send a warning not just to Channel 7 but other TV stations and music shows. The campaign serves a bigger purpose whether he ends up back on X-Factor or not.
So very disappointed with you RedFoo. It seems your motives for becoming a mentor to your willing students have been a little disingenuous. Seriously, if the demeaning of women forms part of your curriculum then we don’t need you! There are already enough “stars” too willing to perpetuate your predictably-crass, male-dominating mantra. We need stars with character and integrity, not those who appeal to the lowest common denominator.
I don’t know why this try-hard joke was hired in the first place – I mean what’s with the ridiculous googles he wears?!
It’s a pity that examples like this tarnish the male gender.
On the flip-side, it’s also a pity that that “artists” of the opposite gender aren’t scrutinised as heavily for lewd and sexually promiscous songs, eg. Meghan Trainor’s “All about that bass” is one that comes to mind…
I see no use for you or your smut.
Go home and leave our lives alone you dropkick!
Red Foo is another male who openly incites/promotes male hatred for women and girls because their sex is female. This isn’t ‘sexism’ this is blatant male hatred of women and girls and no boys and men are not the ones being targetted. There is no symmetry between pandemic male hatred of females and individual women who do hate males.
We live in a Male Supremacist System whereby males continue to proclaim their sex is the generic human one and females only exist to be males’ disposable sexualised commodities. Given men en mass are openly stating/supporting pandemic male hatred of women and girls, this means male hatred of women and girls continues not to be seen by men in power as an issue.
I would not trust Redfoo to mentor my daughter!