Rihanna was forced to go on the defensive yesterday after the Parents Television Council, the group that played a key role in getting the U.S. version of ‘Skins’ cancelled, released scathing criticism about the violent content in her latest video “Man Down”, which features scenes of sexual abuse and murder.

In a statement, the PTC said, “Rihanna’s personal story and status provide a golden opportunity for the singer to send an important message to female victims of rape and domestic violence… But Instead of telling victims they should seek help, Rihanna released a music video that gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the [appearance] of acceptability.”

Singer Chris Brown, Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend, pleaded guilty to felony assault against Rihanna in exchange for 1,400 hours of community service, after originally pleading not-guilty in June 2009.

In response to the statement, Rihanna passionately defended her work, tweeting “U can’t hide your kids from society, or they’ll never learn how to adapt!”

In a series of almost a dozen tweets on the issue, she continued, “I’m a 23-year-old rockstar with NO KIDS! What’s up with everybody wantin’ me to be a parent? I’m just a girl, I can only be your/our voice!”
She went on to respond with perhaps her most powerful statement, “We have the freedom to make art, LET US! It’s your job to make sure they don’t turn out like US.”

Anthony Mandler, director of the ‘Man Down’ video, also jumped to defend the video. The veteran video director, who was behind The Killer’s “When We Were Young” and Jay-Z’s “Run This Town,” deliberately held back from using blood and gore in the video so that people wouldn’t overreact, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Mandler went on to say, “We obviously have a huge issue with abuse to deal with as a country. The fact that there’s an argument to ban this because this will make girls retaliate from abuse with murder is skipping over the point.”

Do you think the “Man Down” video is offensive? – Watch the video below and let us know in the comments.