The Terry Richardson, R. Kelly And Lady Gaga Music Video Is Even Creepier Than You Imagined

Earlier this week, New York Magazine ran a profile of celebrity photographer Terry Richardson: ‘Is Terry Richardson an Artist or a Predator?‘. In it, he talks about his screwed up childhood and desire to do a bukkake shoot. But more important than what’s revealed in the profile is what isn’t: as Jezebel lament, his long history of bad behaviour is “glossed over”; and one of Richardson’s alleged victims wrote in the Guardian, “it should be obvious by now that artists and predators aren’t mutually exclusive”.

But just in case that interview left you feeling a bit ambivalent about the dude who rivals his fellow creeper bro, here’s a little something that’ll tip you over the line.

In November last year, Richardson got together with another accused sexual predator, R. Kelly, to make a music video of Lady Gaga’s ‘Do What You Want’. The clip was never officially released, but today, TMZ leaked snippets of it — and in a mere 30 seconds, it manages to exceed all your expectations of creepiness.

In the video, Kelly plays a doctor who does “whatever he wants” to the patient (Gaga) – while she’s out cold on the operating table, after being sedated. It starts with Kelly putting his hand under the sheet that’s covering a seemingly naked Gaga. “Sounds like that medicine is starting to kick in,” he says as she passes out, moaning, before dancers in fetishised nurse outfits manhandle and hump her limp body. As Gaga’s fans point out, the allusions to rape are intended as a metaphor for the media; in another scene, Richardson takes photos while Gaga twirls around in a newspaper dress, surrounded by headlines proclaiming, “GAGA GOES TOO FAR”.

Although the full video hasn’t yet emerged, Page Six added a bit more to the synopsis. According to their source, Gaga is handicapped and asks of her doctor, “Will I ever be able to walk again?”

“Yes,” Kelly answers. “If you let me do whatever I want with your body.” This is an artist with numerous allegations of sexual assault out against him, many involving underage girls. “I’m putting you under,” he continues, “and when you wake up, you’re going to be pregnant.” Ugh.

Here’s the part of the video that TMZ leaked. WARNING: NSFW, and creepy as fuck.

According to TMZ, Gaga’s team held-off on releasing it due to sexual assault allegations against Richardson, which they had apparently been unaware of. Gawker speculated the delay might have also had something to do with The Village Voice revisiting sexual assault accusations against Kelly around the time the video was shot.

Lady gaga was supposedly in the dark about the myriad of accusations that have been throw at Terry Richardson over the years. yeah right.

— Rose Callaghan (@operation_rosie) June 20, 2014

Gaga hasn’t responded to the leak, but spoke about the delayed release on her website in January. “I was given a week to plan and execute it. It is very devastating for someone like me, I devote every moment of my life to creating fantasies for you.”

But if the leaked snippets are anything to go off, this is not the type of “fantasy” that should be celebrated. As one source in the New York Post put it, the film clip is “literally an ad for rape”.

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Katie Booth is Junkee’s editorial intern. She tweets from @kboo2344