Throwback to Kanye West's Most Controversial Move, The 'Famous' Video

In 2016, Kanye West stirred up controversy with his provocative Famous music video. The 10-minute clip featured lookalikes of celebrity figures nude in a giant bed together. It sparked intense debate and raised serious questions about art, consent, and celebrity culture. The video included representations of West's friends, enemies, and controversial figures of the time. Kim Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner, and Rihanna were among those depicted, alongside more contentious inclusions like Donald Trump, Bill Cosby, and Chris Brown. Perhaps most notably, Taylor Swift's likeness appeared, reigniting their ongoing feud.

West described the video as a "comment on fame" in an interview with Vanity Fair. He challenged artistic boundaries by exposing naked images of actual individuals to a global audience. The picture had most women depicted topless and male figures half-covered. Swift's inclusion was especially controversial given their strained relationship and her carefully constructed public image. It sparked discussions about revenge porn and cyber exploitation. Christina M. Gagnier is a lawyer who advises a group fighting online abuse. He stated that while the film did not constitute revenge porn, it did raise problems of consent that celebrities deserve.

West seemed to revel in the controversy, tweeting and deleting, "Can someone sue me already #I'llwait." He screened the video in an LA theater before its official release, further fueling the media frenzy. Legal experts, however, suggested the video was likely protected as artistic expression. Copyright lawyer Michael Elkin explained, "Who owns the image of someone's physiography? Really no one." Intellectual property lawyer Josh Schiller added that West had "a very strong claim that he's created an artistic device of these famous people," as per USA Today. 

Schiller noted, "The fact we're already seeing such reactions of the controversy in the press show that people are recognizing there is some artistic use of those images going on." Critics like Lena Dunham expressed concern about the video's impact, "Seeing a woman I love like Taylor Swift [or women] I admire like Rihanna or Anna...it makes me feel sad and unsafe and worried for the teenage girls who watch this."

The Famous video highlighted how modern technology allows for increasingly lifelike and potentially exploitative representations of public figures. West's work succeeded in generating powerful commentary on celebrity culture. The video was shot over three months. West was still editing it the day before its debut. Even filming new scenes for it. He identified artist Matthew Barney as an inspiration, to elevate the music video to high art. Famous served as a lead-up to West's roughly 40-city North American tour for "The Life of Pablo." Reactions were mixed. West stated that celebs who previewed the video wanted to be in the video, "Guess what the response is when I show it to them? They want to be in the bed."