When Justin Timberlake’s “Tunnel Vision” single cover was revealed, it should have been a big hint that the video for the 20/20 Experience track would be just as racy - and it is. Featuring three topless models dancing throughout the video, it was quickly pulled from YouTube. But the Google-owned video site slapped an ‘explicit’ label on it and put it back on and it’s reasoning for it is raising eyebrows.
The “Tunnel Vision” video was posted over the weekend and quickly caused a buzz. Just like the single cover, it showed off the female form, but it showed a little more than many might have expected. The video now comes with an “explicit” warning.
In a statement to ABC News on Friday, YouTube explained “While our Guidelines generally prohibit nudity, we make exceptions when it is presented in an educational, documentary or artistic context, and take care to add appropriate warnings and age-restrictions.”
Indeed, the site’s guidelines do say, “Most nudity is not allowed, particularly if it is in a sexual context. Generally if a video is intended to be sexually provocative, it is less likely to be acceptable for YouTube.”
YouTube pulled a similar move for Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” He scored a summer hit with the track, which was accompanied by a video that featured several topless models dancing with him and his collaborators. That video also got banned. Fans of Thicke’s work had to go to Vevo to watch it.
Thicke’s unrated video was actually missing from YouTube and the site didn’t say why “Tunnel Vision” was up so quickly after it got the “Explicit” tag, while Thicke’s had a longer wait. Thicke’s unrated video only has 480,000 views, while the censored one is up to 83 million.
The “Tunnel Vision” video has 2 million views. It was directed by Jonathan Craven, Simon McLoughlin and Jeff Nicholas.
Here’s Timberlake’s video:
And Thicke’s:
Do you think Timberlake's video is ‘artistic’ or is it really just to get extra attention for the song?