Rihanna Parodies The Paparazzi In Her Raunchy “S&M” Video

Robbie Daw | February 1, 2011 7:07 am

Rihanna is taken prisoner and has insulting words literally hurled at her by the paparazzi in her Melina Matsouka-directed “S&M” music video. We’d already seen glimpses of several looks RiRi sports in the clip for the Stargate/Sandy Vee-produced dance-pop jam. Now head below to watch the slick finished product. Ah, the age-old—or at least music-video-age-old—concept of a pop star lashing out at his or her critics while drawing a metaphor for sadomasochism. We won’t tell Rihanna that Madonna already made this video back in 1995, and that it’s called “Human Nature,” if you won’t. (Though, we admit, Madge’s now-classic vid, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, was far less colorful.)

That said, Rihanna looks like she’s having a grand old time here, strutting around in her giant red wig, wearing latex while chomping on pink popcorn and brandishing sex toys to punish her press captors with once she turns the tables on them.

What do you think—is “S&M” a scandalous and titillating affair that’s one of Rihanna’s best videos yet, or have you seen it all before?