David Bowie's Controversial "Next Day" Music Video "Mistakenly" Removed by YouTube

Crooner's use of Christian symbolism in his new clip initially didn't go over so well with the site's censors

By Josh Grossberg May 09, 2013 1:15 PMTags
David Bowie, Gary Oldman, Marion CotillardYoutube

David Bowie's latest clip wasn't so hunky-dory for some folks at YouTube.

The video-sharing site temporarily took down the new music video for his song "The Next Day" over what it initially cited as offensive content thanks to the Thin White Duke's heavy use of religious imagery.

The video finds Bowie wearing robes and striking a Jesus-like pose while performing in a basement bar. Costarring with him are Gary Oldman, playing a drunken priest, and Marion Cotillard, dressed as a harlot.

Youtube

What raised eyebrows apparently was a sequence in which the pair dance sensuously in front of the music legend. When Cotillard's hands suddenly begin bleeding from stigmata marks, Oldman's character yells at Bowie, "You see this? This is your doing!" Various bar patrons then begin flogging the singer.

YouTube spokeswoman Abbi Tatton tells E! News that the clip's removal for supposedly breaching its terms of service was a mistake and that the site has since reposted it with an adult-content warning.

"With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it's brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it," says the rep.

A publicist for Bowie was unavailable for comment.

"The Next Day" is the latest single off the 66-year-old rocker's comeback album of the same name, which dropped in March.

So far, no word whether Bowie will tour in support of it.