Donny Osmond speaks out on Lady Gaga video

Using his daily radio program - The Donny Osmond Show - as a platform, Donny Osmond jumped into the controversy surrounding the recently released Lady Gaga “Telephone” video featuring Beyonce. The video has been widely criticized for its depiction of graphic violence and explicit sex.

Osmond was quite active during the record industry censorship debates of the late 1980s, taking a public stand against the Parents Music Resource Center founded by Tipper Gore and the group’s crusade for explicit lyric package labeling. He appeared before Congress in support of the RIAA and recording artists. 

“I'm all for freedom of speech and against any form of censorship, but all I know is that I'm a parent and I'm upset about this,” said Osmond. “Unlike 20 years ago, in today's modern, viral world in which content becomes instantaneously available irrespective of age, I wonder whether the music industry might need to rethink its marketing policies with regard to making an explicit music video containing profanity, sexual exploitation, nudity, and graphic violence available to anyone with Internet access. I wouldn't want my child to watch this video. Would you? What do you think? Should these two extremely gifted female role models for millions of young girls, maybe, have given a little more thought to the effect it might have on their core audience?”

The Donny Osmond Show is a lifestyle-driven music program airing across more than 75 markets in North America. The show is syndicated by McVay Syndication and distributed by Citadel Media in the United States and by Orbyt Radio in Canada. Osmond welcomes feedback at comments@donny.com

Listen to Donny's commentary here.

Tweet