by RT – The Lebanese government has banned a new pop video by a
model-turned-popstar due to its erotic overtones, igniting debate around
censorship in the Mideast country. Myriam Klink’s music production ‘Goal’ was banned less than 24 hours after it was released on Friday. A
statement from Justice Minister Salim Jreissati’s office stated that
displaying, distributing or circulating the provocative video would
result in a 50 million Lebanese lira, fine. ($33.000)
Although there is no nudity in the video, the raunchy lyrics and provocative clothing, were enough for the censors to deem the content “indecent”. Censors also took offence to the presence of a child in the video, saying that the inclusion of the girl amounted to child “exploitation”. The video has since been withdrawn from all types of media outlets, including social media and YouTube.
The
video’s ban received widespread attention on social media, not least
from the pop star herself. However, there were also numerous messages of
support as well as sharp criticism of the popstar. This
isn’t the first time the Lebanese government has banned content it
deemed controversial. The Virtual Museum of Censorship has collated everything that has been banned in the country, with works by Lady Gaga and Metallica among those put on virtual display. Klink, herself no stranger to controversy, fell foul of Lebanon’s censorship board for another video in 2012.
