10 Most Controversial Music Videos Ever

Jeremy is one of Pearl Jam’s most endearing songs, and the fact that it’s based on a true story makes it all the more harrowing. As the video depicts, the song tells the story of Jeremy (based on Jeremy Wade Delle), a schoolboy who walked into class and shot himself.

From that, it’s easy to see why it was controversial, although the video focuses on trying to tell Jeremy’s story rather than being gratuitous. It shows Jeremy as the only character moving, with every other one fixed in frozen poses, often pointing or laughing at Jeremy himself.

We also see him ripping up his own drawings and running through the forest, angry and confused. It perhaps goes a little too hard on the bullied angle - the real Jeremy actually did have a friend and showed several symptoms of depression - but it tells a great and grounded story.

The official video just ends with Jeremy at the front of class and his classmates frozen, covered in blood, making it seem like he shot them. The actual uncensored version though, we see Jeremy put the gun in his mouth, revealing the true incident. What a daft bit of censoring.