Saturday would have been Michael Jackson‘s 62nd birthday, so to celebrate, Spike Lee decided to honor the King Of Pop with an updated video for “They Don’t Care About Us.” In the video, Lee included footage from the George Floyd protests that occurred around the world with scenes and outtakes from the song’s two original videos.
“Great protest songs can’t get old, stale or non-relevant because the struggle still continues. That’s why THEY DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT US is the anthem during this chaotic, pandemic world we are all living in,” Lee said in a statement released with the new video. “To celebrate Michael Jackson’s born day, we have made the THEY DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT US 2020 short film to continue the struggle for equality for all. That’s the truth, Ruth. Be safe.”
Originally released back in 1996, the song is best known as a protest anthem thanks to its two music videos. The first video was shot in two areas in Brazil: Pelourinho, the historic city center of Salvador, and in a favela of Rio de Janeiro called Dona Marta. Authorities in the latter attempted to block Jackson from recording the video in the city but failed to stop him in the end. Jackson would later record a second video for the song, one that was filmed in a prison with cellmates and presented footage of police officers attacking African Americans, the military crackdown of the protest in the Tiananmen Square, war crimes, execution, and other human rights abuses.
Watch the updated video for “They Don’t Really Care About Us” above.
