The Veronica’s latest music video has sparked controversy, with an emergency service worker claiming it promotes alcohol-fuelled violence.
Jessica Origliasso, one half of the Australian pop duo, posted a teaser of the music video for their new song ‘On You Side’ to her Instagram account on Saturday.
The clip features snapshot scenes of the 31-year-old and girlfriend Ruby Rose in a pool; kissing in a bedroom; and in a bar drinking shots, where a man appears to harass Jess before Ruby slams his head into the bar and has to be held back.
Written and directed by Ruby Rose, the video is a work of fiction, but it hasn’t stopped a debate from raging about the message it could potentially be sending to fans.
A fan who identified herself as a paramedic said she loved the video “apart from the scene where ruby rose smashes a guy’s face into a bar”.
“As a paramedic in Australia there is an epidemic of coward punches and alcohol fuled (sic) violence and I can tell you first hand the victims do not walk away with a few cuts on their face, they are usually on life support with a traumatic brain injury or die,” she wrote.
“The audience watching this video clip are partying in clubs and promoting this kind of violence as a solution to confrontation I do not agree with.”
It wasn’t long before Jessica responded, telling the commenter that “the male character sexually harasses my character, and Ruby stands up to them after a fair warning”.
But the fan was having none of it, pointing out there were “plenty of other avenues” for dealing with sexual harassment.
“Spend a night shift in an ambo on a Friday/Saturday night then tell me violence is the right answer,” she wrote.
“But hey I was just voicing my opinion and this is the problem society has excepted (sic) that violence and attacking people is the solution. #lostrespect #zerotolerance.”
She added that if the video clip was the reverse no one would think it would be okay for a man to assault a woman, even if she had been harassing him.
“No and it’s not ok to commit violence against men either.”
Fans weighed into the debate, pointing out that the video clip is a work of fiction, that it was open to interpretation and that it was difficult to get a complex story across in four minutes.
Others seemed to take the criticism too hard and the paramedic was forced to defend her position after receiving “nasty” private messages.
“You have your opinion I have mine. Funny thing a guy wrote after my initial post that this was a man hating lesbian video but no one bat an eye lid!! Yet y’all upset I even mention alcohol-fuelled violence,” she wrote.
The full clip depicts a relationship in which Ruby’s character has an alcohol addiction and Jessica’s character sticks by her.
Acknowledging that the clip could be triggering for anyone with a substance abuse problem, she captioned the post with a message to seek help.
“If you or someone you know is experiencing problems with addiction or substance abuse, please find your local support centre or network and seek assistance.”
You can watch the full clip here.
The Veronicas and Ruby Rose have been contacted for comment, but had not responded at the time of writing.
Top Comments
It's a video, fiction, make belief. When do we take what's on TV literally? Oh yeah and Facebook news is real..smh
The paramedic makes a great point, violence is violence. If we want to call ourselves feminists, and genuinely want equality, how can we say that violence against men is acceptable?
I agree, if the genders were reversed in this there would be bloody outcry.
If we're going to get pissed if we see videos of men using violence against women, then we should also be pissed about women using violence against men.
True. I also worry about grrrrl power messages. We see women on TV now routinely kicking some guys ass and brushing off haymakers without smearing their makeup.
The truth is men on average have 60% more upper body strength pound for pound. A 5'4 female punching a 6'2 male not only isn't at all likely to knock him out, but he is fully able to deliver 300-400% of the kinetic energy back into her head with his fist and that's very dangerous.
Shows and music videos shouldn't mislead people about physical altercations and the reality of violence.