Why it wouldn't fly today: Perry’s frenemy Taylor Swift wasn’t immune to the same kind of sophomoric homophobia, with Picture To Burn subscribing to the same backward view that the worst thing you could call a teenage boy is “gay.” Song: Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift, 2008Ĭhoice lyric: “So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy / That's fine, I'll tell mine that you're gay.” Why it wouldn't fly today: If Perry’s I Kissed A Girl was borderline gross for its exploitative take on same-sex experimentation, Ur So Gay crosses the line with its deeply immature rattling-off of gay stereotypes, driven home by the use of the word as a slur. Why it wouldn't fly today: Another disgusting entry in the Stones’ songbook, the song about a woman who’s been molded to “talk when she's spoken to” is an embarrassment for even existing.Ĭhoice lyric: “I can't believe I fell in love with someone that wears more makeup and / You're so gay and you don't even like boys” Song: Under My Thumb by the Rolling Stones, 1966Ĭhoice lyric: “Under my thumb, the squirmin' dog who's just had her day / Under my thumb, a girl who has just changed her ways." Beyond the song’s opening stanzas, the racism, misogyny and outright references to raping slaves make this a low point in the Stones’ discography. Why it wouldn't fly today: Even Mick Jagger knows these lyrics aged incredibly poorly in recent years, he’s changed the words when he performs the song live. Song: Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones, 1971Ĭhoice lyric: “Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields / Sold in the market down in New Orleans / Scarred old slaver knows he's doing alright / Hear him whip the women just around midnight.” But its lyrics about “funky Chinamen from funky Chinatown” with stereotypically Asian-sounding last names isn’t exactly a nuanced appreciation of the culture. Why it wouldn't fly today: Perhaps the song was just trying to celebrate the ancient art of kung fu.
Song: Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas, 1974Ĭhoice lyric: “There was funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chung / He said ‘Here comes the big boss, let’s get it on.' ” Standards have changed quite a bit in terms of what references the culture at large deems offensive in its hit songs, from casual homophobia in pop songs from Katy Perry and Taylor Swift to the jaw-dropping lyrical content of some Rolling Stones classics.īelow, find a list of songs that, if released today, would almost certainly ignite a scandal. There's nothing like hearing a song come on the radio or flicker across a Spotify playlist that you haven't encountered in a while, and realizing, "Was this song always this offensive?"
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