10 Most Controversial Music Videos Of All Time
7. Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box (1993)
The first single from In Utero, Nirvana’s final album caused a good deal of unrest in some circles thanks to its surreal music video. Starting and finishing on the band sitting before an old man in a hospital bed, each verse introduces us to something suitably strange. For the first verse, the old man from the hospital bed dons a Santa hat and climbs onto a crow-covered crucifix. The second verse introduces us to a young girl (sporting a hat eerily reminiscent of those worn by the KKK) reaching towards human foetuses on a tree.
When asked about the lyrics, Kurt Cobain explained they were inspired by a documentary he viewed on children suffering from cancer. His widow, Courtney Love, offered a vastly different interpretation, claiming the whole song was actually about her genitalia.
The use of crucifixion imagery, the KKK hat worn by a child and the image of unborn babies all sparked controversy at the time of its release. No official explanation has been provided for the provocative imagery placed throughout the Wizard of Oz-like video. Interpretations ranging from racism to the commercialisation of Christmas have been offered in the years since.
The video was also the centre of legal controversy when original director Kevin Kerslake (replaced by Anton Corbijn for the shoot) sued over alleged copyright infringement. The parties involved eventually settled out of court.