Britney Spears was given a dressing down by Hackney Council over 'glamourising' gun use and gangs in the video which she filmed in the London borough.The video’s director Chris Marrs Piliero recently spoke to MTV about the controversy caused by the video’s gun use. He said: "Holding the gun became a controversial thing 'cause we filmed it in London, and they don't have a lot of gun use out there. That doesn't mean that there's no gun use, so I did find it really interesting.”
He continued: “For me, the thing is, it blew me away that members of Parliament were speaking about this. One, because it's a music video, and two, because don't you guys have television shows out there that show crime?”
Britney filmed part of the video at Stoke Newington Town Hall and Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney, added her voice to the debate, saying: "It is only a music video, but it's images like this, with pop stars glamourising gangs, which means that some young people... get drawn in. Britney should really know better."
Hackney Council made a statement which said: "In this case we did not agree that a replica gun could be used at Stoke Newington Town Hall and we are disappointed. We will be raising this matter with the production company.'
He continued: “For me, the thing is, it blew me away that members of Parliament were speaking about this. One, because it's a music video, and two, because don't you guys have television shows out there that show crime?”
Britney filmed part of the video at Stoke Newington Town Hall and Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney, added her voice to the debate, saying: "It is only a music video, but it's images like this, with pop stars glamourising gangs, which means that some young people... get drawn in. Britney should really know better."
Hackney Council made a statement which said: "In this case we did not agree that a replica gun could be used at Stoke Newington Town Hall and we are disappointed. We will be raising this matter with the production company.'