Politicians in the UK are demanding an apology from Britney Spears after accusing the pop star of glamourising gun violence in her new music video. The pop superstar has filmed scenes for her latest single, Criminal, in East London and during the Bonnie and Clyde-themed shoot, she was photographed running out of a convenience store in Hackney waving a fake pistol.
Local politicians on Hackney Council have now criticised the pop singer for using the replica weapon and asked for an apology from the star. "I think she should apologise and make a sizeable donation to a Hackney charity that deals with young people ... for the rudeness and damage she's done to this community," councillor Ian Rathbone told London Tonight.
Hackney's Member of Parliament Diane Abbott fears Spears is drawing the wrong kind of attention to gun violence. "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," she said.