Beirut: Lebanese pop singer Myriam Klink’s latest and exceptionally provocative video clip “Goal” has raised eyebrows in the country prompting Justice Minister Salim Jreissati to ban it.
Although a hefty fine of LL50 million ($33,105) would be imposed to anyone displaying, distributing or circulating the “indecent” video online, it was widely available through most social media outlets, including YouTube.
Klink, like many other Lebanese singers, uses provocative material to boost her publicity — but this time the video, full of sexual innuendo, might have crossed the line — even for the relatively liberal Lebanese society.
Not only is she scantily clad in the video, she tells her male counterpart in the song lyrics, to “score the goal” — and explicit sexual reference.
But while many are abhorred by the vulgarity of the video, others have lashed out at the government for “censorship”.
Critics claim the government, largely influenced by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, is increasingly moving towards censorship in a society that enjoys relative freedom of press and expression.
Lebanese took to Twitter to point out the hundreds of individuals awaiting trial, some for more than a decade, while electricity and water shortages, accumulating garbage, a serious refugee crisis, lack of a new elections law, along with a myriad other problems were neglected.
Klink received a single nomination in the presidential election of 2016, when an unnamed MP wrote her name on the ballot in what was widely regarded to be a protest vote, though she was deemed ineligible because she is an Orthodox Christian, not a Maronite Christian.
Unfazed by Jreissati’s move, Klink responded via twitter: “All this attention for ME?? Hihihi, thank you Lebanon.”
