Is Britney Spears glamorizing gun violence?

Britney Spears holds up a convenience store with a gun in her latest video, &quot;Criminal.&quot;

(Image credit: Facebook/Britney Spears)

last updated 8 January 2015

Britney Spears has been critiqued for being too sexy, too wild, too careless — but too violent? The pop star's latest music video, for the song "Criminal," takes on a Bonnie and Clyde theme. Spears filmed portions of it late last week in East London, brandishing a fake gun as she pretended to rob a convenience store. After photos leaked, local politicians began demanding that, in light of August's riots, the singer apologize and make a donation to a youth charity, arguing that she's glamorizing gun violence. Is she?

No. This is being blown way out of proportion: "Way to get your knickers in a bunch," says Alexandra Capotorto at Ology. It's not as if Spears has gone on a public campaign extolling the virtues of gun violence. "She was clearly filming a video." The alarmists in the local government should "stop exaggerating" the circumstances "and go have some tea and crumpets."

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This seems more thoughtless than malicious: Spears' production team should have done its homework, says That Grape Juice. It's unwise wise to film a crime-themed clip in an area where "over half of teen deaths are gun and knife-related" — especially since the backlash could hurt her career. Given the sluggish sales of Spears' latest album, the last thing she needs is for this video to be banned.