14 ’90s Music Videos That Wouldn’t Be Made Today
A wild ride through 14 outrageous '90s music videos that pushed boundaries so hard, they’d be instantly canceled if they dropped today.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
The ’90s were a golden age of music video excess — bold, bizarre, and often completely unfiltered. Many of the era’s most iconic clips pushed boundaries in ways that would spark outrage today, from blatant sexism to casual violence and cultural insensitivity. This list revisits 14 music videos that defined a generation — and reveals why they’d never make it past the pitch meeting in 2025.
1. Prodigy – “Smack My Bitch Up” (1997)
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This video follows a night of chaotic, drug-fueled partying from a first-person perspective, culminating in violence, nudity, and a controversial twist ending. Its title alone sparked widespread backlash, and feminist groups called for bans. Today, the casual treatment of misogyny, addiction, and violence would never fly with mainstream audiences.
2. Madonna – “Justify My Love” (1990)
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MTV banned Madonna’s black-and-white video for its explicit sexual content — fetish gear, same-sex intimacy, and religious imagery all collide in a Parisian hotel room. She turned controversy into a marketing goldmine, but its depiction of BDSM and voyeurism feels more exploitative than liberating by today’s standards. Even in our more open era, consent-centered portrayals are key, and this video blurs too many lines.
3. Dr. Dre – “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (1992)
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Though it’s now a West Coast hip-hop classic, this video casually shows women being objectified at a backyard party. Bikini-clad extras are treated like props while Dre and Snoop trade verses. The “boys will be boys” vibe feels dated now that hip-hop is having deeper conversations about masculinity and respect.
4. Sublime – “Date Rape” (1992)
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While the song is actually anti–sexual assault, the video plays it all for laughs — featuring cartoonish jail rape revenge as punchline. The tone is wildly off, trivializing a serious issue. Today, there’s no way a label would greenlight something so careless with its messaging.
5. Nine Inch Nails – “Closer” (1994)
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Trent Reznor’s dark, industrial nightmare is full of bondage, animal imagery, and blasphemy. With crucified monkeys and gas masks galore, it toes the line between art and provocation. In a post–PETA and post–#MeToo world, this kind of nihilism would spark massive backlash.
6. Aaliyah – “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” (1994)
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Even before we fully reckoned with R. Kelly’s abuses, this video raised eyebrows. Aaliyah, just 15, sings about romantic love with someone much older, while Kelly, her mentor and secret husband at the time, lurks in the background. Today, the grooming undertones would be inexcusable.
7. Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People” (1996)
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Manson’s grotesque imagery — contorted bodies, fascist costuming, and body horror — was designed to disturb. It worked, but it also relied heavily on shock for attention. The line between performance art and triggering content would be much more scrutinized today.
8. Aqua – “Barbie Girl” (1997)
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On the surface, it’s bubblegum fun, but the video’s exaggerated gender roles and sexualized doll imagery have aged poorly, especially lines like “kiss me here, touch me there.” In an era of Barbie empowerment and body positivity, the song’s irony feels more unsettling than cute.
9. Korn – “Freak on a Leash” (1999)
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This groundbreaking video blended animation and live action, but the images of gun violence and exploding glass amid children playing are especially jarring now. In the context of modern school shootings, the symbolism hits differently. Networks would demand heavy edits or avoid it altogether.
10. Britney Spears – “…Baby One More Time” (1998)
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Britney’s schoolgirl outfit, pigtails, and belly-baring shirt launched her career — and a thousand debates. Though she was 16, the video blurred the line between innocence and eroticism in a way that would be heavily critiqued today. Our current lens on child stardom and sexualization makes this an uncomfortable watch.
11. The Bloodhound Gang – “Fire Water Burn” (1996)
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The video leans hard into juvenile humor, including depictions of disabled people, racial caricatures, and women as party accessories. It’s the kind of try-hard edginess that the internet now calls “cringe.” What passed as funny in the ’90s would be rightfully called out for ableism and sexism today.
12. No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend” (2000)
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This lesser-known video features Gwen Stefani dressed in Harajuku fashion, fighting off samurai warriors in a Tokyo-themed sequence. It plays with Japanese aesthetics without context, bordering on cultural appropriation. In the wake of growing conversations about Asian representation, this would be called out instantly.
13. Beck – “Devils Haircut” (1996)
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Though not overtly offensive, the video features Beck wielding guns in everyday settings — down city streets, through subway stations. Post-Columbine and in the era of mass shootings, this kind of imagery feels way too cavalier. What once looked artsy now feels tone-deaf.
14. The Offspring – “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” (1998)
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This parody of white suburban wannabe hip-hop culture was intended as satire, but the exaggerated use of Latino stereotypes and Black cultural references hasn’t aged well. It dances too close to mockery instead of critique. In today’s climate, it would need to approach race with a lot more care.