Madonna is no stranger to controversy, but some say she’s gone a step too far this time. The Queen of Pop released a new music video for her song “God Control,” which features a re-enactment of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. One survivor isn’t having it.
Survivor Patience Carter told TMZ the video was almost spot-on to what she experienced at Pulse. She said the “God Control” video was traumatic for her to watch, and likely will be for other survivors. Carter suggested Madonna included a more serious disclaimer at the start of the video due to its graphic nature.
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The video does currently include a disclaimer. It does not necessarily reflect the severity of the graphic imagery, though.
“The story you’re about to see is very disturbing. But it’s happening everywhere and it has to stop,” the warning reads.
Madonna released the video on Wednesday to much backlash. The scene mimicking the Pulse Nightclub shooting is only 32 seconds long, but is hard to watch. The shooting scene begins at the 2:38-second mark in the video. A shooter holds a gun up to his mouth, and seems to pull the trigger. The scene then flashes to a man opening fire on club-goers dancing and having fun, unaware of what’s about to happen.
Madonna briefly addressed the graphic scene in an interview with PEOPLE. She told the magazine it’s intended to be a commentary on the shooting epidemic in the United States. The singer said the problem is “out of control” at this point.
“I made this video because I wanted to draw attention to a crisis that needs to be addressed. To me, this is the biggest problem in America right now,” she said. “I cannot take it anymore.”
The song includes lyrics like, “This is your wake-up call.”
The Pulse Nightclub shooting took place in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. It claimed the lives of 49 people and left 53 more with injuries. Shooter Omar Mateen entered the nightclub armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, Buzzfeed reported.
He called 911 while inside the club and pledged allegiance to ISIS. Transcripts from the call were released to the FBI in the days after the shooting occurred.
Per CNN, Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, later told the FBI in a statement that she knew her husband was planning to do something violent before the attack. She said she regretted not being more truthful in initial interviews with the agency.
“I wish I had done the right thing but my fear held me back. I wish I had been more truthful,” she wrote in a statement to the FBI later shown in court.
Salman was charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading law enforcement agents in their investigation into the attack. She was acquitted in March 2018, The New York Times reported.
