Entertainment

Why Are These Two Celebs Lying Next To Each Other In Kanye's 'Famous' Video?

by Sheena Sharma
REX/Shutterstock

If you don't live under a rock, you've probably seen (or heard, at the very least) about Kanye West's new music video for his song "Famous."

The video shows George W Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Trump, Amber Rose, Bill Cosby, Caitlyn Jenner, Kanye, Kim K, Ray J and Taylor Swift naked in bed lying together. And then there's Rihanna and Chris Brown, who are lying right next to each other.

If you look at Twitter, you'll see that people have had mixed reactions to Kanye's video. Some argue it's a work of art, while everyone else is freaked out and rightfully so, because it's weird AF.

What's super weird about the video though is not only the placement of Rihanna and Brown next to each other, but that from about 1 minute and 35 seconds in to 2:20 (the end of the video), the camera hovers from Rihanna to Brown and then back to Rihanna. Brown and Rihanna get an entire 45 seconds of airtime in the video, while everyone else only gets a few seconds.

Interesting.

Though Rihanna and Chris Brown's violent altercation seems like a thing of the past because it happened seven years ago (it doesn't seem like it happened that long ago, does it?), Kanye's video trivializes what happened between the two of them.

I may be reading too much into the video, but what message is he trying to send? Is he trying to sweep domestic violence under the rug by placing them next to each other? Or is he just being a total fuckboy and doing all of this solely to get reactions from the public and secure his spot as an artist who pushes boundaries in the music industry?

Despite the aesthetic of Kanye's video, it's hard to forget the ugliness of Rihanna and Brown's past. In a 2009 interview with 20/20, Rihanna recalls the gruesome details of the fight with Brown,

I couldn't take that he kept lying to me and he couldn't take that I wouldn't drop it... It escalated into him being violent towards me. And it was ugly... I was battered, I was bleeding, I was swollen in my face.

The details of the fight are why it's particularly disgusting and contentious that Kanye chose to place the two of them next to each other.

Rihanna and Brown have yet to comment on Kanye's artistic direction. Swift is the only celebrity of those depicted in the video to have reacted so far -- sources say she's absolutely "livid" about Kanye's decision to show her naked.

Which leaves me and the rest of the world wondering: What the hell does Rihanna think about all of this? Only time will tell.