Rapper Redfoo, better known as one half of LMFAO, is making waves this week for his involvement in Play-N-Skillz’s new video for “Literally I Can’t.” The Twitter backlash was swift, probably because the music video is one of the most unabashedly sexist videos in recent memory — it’s about mocking a group of (unbelievably stereotyped) sorority girls who show up at a frat house and refuse to do what the frat brothers tell them to do. Redfoo tweeted his response to the entirely predictable anger Monday night, calling the song “satire.”
So why are people so annoyed? Let’s start with the song, which features these lines of timeless beauty:
“While I’m at my motherf*cking table and I’m trying to dance, don’t f*cking talk to me”
“You got a big o’l butt, I can tell from the way you’re walking / but you annoy me, because you’re talking”
“Shhh.. don’t talk about it be about it / work it, and twerk it, and maybe I’ll tweet about it.”
These all occur amid the charming, melodious refrain of “Shut the f*ck up.”
But it gets worse. The whole “plot” of the music video is mocking preppy girls who refuse to drink or do “girl on girl” stuff at a frat party. Every time they’re asked to do something degrading they say “I Literally Can’t,” and that refusal is the central “joke” of the video. Nice one, considering the ongoing conversation about sexual assaults at campus fraternities. You can watch the full video here.
The song is by Play-N-Skillz, but features Redfoo, Lil Jon and Enertia McFly — none of the other associated artists have made public statements about the controversy on Twitter, but Play-N-Skill and Enertia McFly retweeted Redfoo’s attempted justification. But the backlash is building steadily — there’s already a Change.org petition demanding that Australian Channel 7 (home of Australia’s talent show, X Factor, which Redfoo helps to judge) sever ties with Redfoo, and it’s gotten almost 5,000 signatures. And listeners are taking to Twitter to voice their outrage:
Redfoo at first appeared a little defensive on Twitter:
But then attempted to justify the song:
Not buying it, because literally, I can’t.
Read next: Nicki Minaj Apologizes for Video With Nazi Imagery
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