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LMFAO’s Redfoo Insists ‘Literally I Can’t’ Video Isn’t Misogynistic

LMAFO, Play-N-Skillz, Redfoo, Literally I Can't, Misogynistic

Redfoo, best known for being half of joke-pop group LMFAO, took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend a video he’s featured in against accusations that it’s misogynist. The video, for Play-N-Skillz’ “Literally I Can’t,” sees Redfoo, Lil Jon, and Enertia McFly at a frat party hitting on girls. When they reject their advances, the men in the video shout at them to “shut the fuck up,” and deliver delightful lines like “Shhh … I said jump on the pole / I didn’t need your opinion,” and “You’re annoying bitch because you’re talking.” The video, which is not embeddable, is pretty gross, and the song is awful to boot.

In a series of tweets, Redfoo rejected this characterization, writing that the backlash was “another example of critics victimizing an artist by purposely misinterpreting his/her work to support a pre-existing agenda.” He explained that he loves women and just “made a comical party song to satirize the cliché #LiterallyICant.” Also, he points out that “the word ‘slut’ never appears in the lyrics,” so everything’s cool, right?

Well, is the song misogynistic? Does the “Literally I Can’t” video treat the women in it like mere prizes to be won by the frat bros? The official YouTube description says it all:

The #LIC sorority sisters who strictly abide by their “Literally I Can’t” mantra reluctantly show up at the #STFU frat house to show face at the hottest party on campus. Unable to resist what the boys have to offer, they’re transformed one at a time into girls gone wild until the only one left standing is the uptight president who’s forced out of the party.

Hmm, “unable to resist?” That doesn’t look great. At the very least, Redfoo is ignorant of the reality of rape culture, and his defense of the video rings a little hollow. Frankly, we’re surprised he didn’t take it one step further and try to convince everyone that the video is actually about ethics in games journalism.